A Force to Be Reckoned With
by Poke-lover88
Summary: White, a gifted trainer in Unova is starting out on her journey; but little does she know that she will single handedly have to battle Team Plasma, and figure out her feelings for not only their leader, N, but also a talented Pokemon breeder named Brock.
1. The Journey Begins

**Hello, this is my first story so bear with me. The first few chapters might be a little slow but it really picks up in Chapter 4 and 5, or so I think; and if you are here to read about Brock he makes his appearence in Chapter 12. As for N, he is in Chapter 3 and on. Again, this is my first shot at writing ever, so I will hopefully improve over the length of the story. **

**This is a bit of a Ferriswheel shipping story, but then I went ahead and threw Brock in there..., and I don't think White and Brock have a couple name.**

**Anywho, I'll stop rambling now.**

**So I hope you enjoy reading this, reviews and critiques are welcome. **

**I apoligize for any grammar and punctuation, it is my weakness, and I am trying to get better. :P**

**Anyway, Enjoy! :)**

**~Poke-lover88**

* * *

I gritted my teeth, and mustered up the last ounce of courage I had to call out my final Pokémon.

"Come on out Talace", a bright flash of light appeared and out of the small pokeball came a gigantic creature, my Emboar.

N smiled, "Ah, I had a feeling you would save him for last, White". I glared at him, and his cocky smile, but once again, I felt that familiar pang in my heart when I looked at his face, the face of the man I loved. Well one of the men anyway, the other was in Hoenn tapping his foot impatiently, clutching the X-transceiver I had given him. Next to him sat Ash and May, looking calm and polishing their pokeballs, while Max sat on the other side of him looking just as tense.

"You should really calm down Brock, you're going to give yourself an ulcer" chirped May with a bit of concern.

"I just need to know how things turn out" he replied closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

Of course he was referring to me, and my battle with N; sometimes I thought he was more stressed about the battle than I was, but I guess that's just Brock, the worry wart.

I looked across the battle field at N's Zoroark, his strongest, against my strongest. Other than Zekrom and Reshiram that is.

I sighed and Talace looked back at me questioningly, 'why hadn't I told him what to do yet'? My eyes rested on Talace and he huffed some smoke out his nose, letting me know he was ready to go. I smiled; it seemed like just yesterday that I had received him as a Tepig, so tiny, so inexperienced, just like myself. I closed my eyes and brought myself back to that day.

* * *

_**Chapter 1- The Journey begins**_

I awoke with a jolt, another weird dream that seemed to not have any order to it what so ever still running through my mind. I lazily looked over at my nightstand clock to check the time, and when I saw it, my eyes widened and my heart got a jump start.

"Holy crap it's already 7:50!" I immediately threw off the covers and started stripping off my pajamas. This was one of, if not the most important days of my life, and I had overslept.

"Shit" I silently cursed as my foot got tangled in my shorts and I went tumbling into my closet. Within a second I was back up and throwing on my white tank top and black vest. I yanked a brush through my hair before tying it up in a ponytail and slapping on my pink cap with the pokeball symbol on it. I threw my brush into my already packed bag along with a few other things that I really didn't need, I already had packed almost everything but the kitchen sink in there, but I figured I couldn't be too prepared.

I threw my bag over my shoulder and took one look back at my room to make sure I wasn't forgetting anything obvious. I then ran downstairs not even looking in the mirror, grabbed my shoes and ran out the door. I heard a few stomps as I threw on my shoes while sitting on the porch, and the door flew back open. I looked over to see my mother with her hands on her hips but a smile on her face.

"You overslept didn't you sweetie". I nodded still focused on tying my shoes.

"Well you should get going but I really wanted to say good bye first".

I smiled and stood up to hug her.

"Wow, you're all grown up, starting your own journey, it seems like just yesterday that I was starting my own". She smiled. "I wish you the best of luck, oh and don't forget to visit sometimes; I would like to hear all about your adventures".

"I will Mom" I said smiling and waving, "Bye!"

"Bye sweetheart" she yelled after me, waving back.

I ran as fast as I could to professor Juniper's lab. Nuvema town was small but the lab was on the outskirts. When the lab was in view I could see Cheren and Bianca already there, waiting for me. Cheren looked up and smiled when he saw me, then looked back at his watch.

"Fashionably late, as usual" he mocked.

I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Thanks for waiting guys" I said, a little out of breath.

"Not a problem" Bianca said sweetly, then her face turned sour. Her hands flew to my hair and started fixing it. I had gotten used to her fixing things, hair, clothes, sometimes when it came to grooming she was more mankey than human.

"There" she sang, "All better".

Cheren rolled his eyes and held open the door for us. We walked inside to see the lab the way it always was and professor Juniper at her computer. She turned around when she heard the door shut.

"Oh, hi guys I was wondering when you would get here". I could feel Cheren look at me, but I didn't turn. Professor Juniper turned back around, then back to us, but this time she was holding a small box. She walked over, opened the box, and held it out in front of us.

"Go ahead and make your choice".

We all looked in the box, there were three pokeballs resting side by side on blue velvet, below each ball was a metal plate bearing the names, "Snivy, Tepig, and Oshawott".

Bianca, Cheren, and I had discussed before what Pokémon we would chose, they both said they would be happy with either Snivy or Oshawott, and I said I would only be happy with Tepig, so things worked out fine. I had always been drawn to fire Pokémon, they had such spirit, and power. I was the oddball as not many other people cared that fondly for fire types.

My hands started shaking, I had waited 15 years for this day and it was finally here, I reached in and pulled out Tepig's ball.

"Good choice". Piped professor Juniper. She then held the box to Bianca, who picked Snivy, and then Cheren, who took Oshawott's ball.

"Very good", said Professor Juniper, closing the box with a snap she turned back around to her desk. "And I have a few other things to give to you three", she turned back around and gave us each a pile of things. "Okay, this", she said holding up a small bag, "Is a medicine bag, you can put potions, berries, and other things for healing Pokémon in it", next she held up a small case that looked like it would hold CDs. "This is a TM and HM case, you three will be given, and find a fair amount of these on your journey and this will hold all of them".

"Here are some pokeballs, I'm sure you all know how these work, and last but not least, as per request by your mothers, an X-transceiver". She handed us all of our things, and we placed them in our bags.

"OH, I almost forgot" she walked back over to her desk, "Here". She handed us two things, a small box with a pokeball on it, no doubt our pokedex's, and a card with our picture and information, titled 'Trainer Card'. "Those things are pretty self-explanatory, and as you already know, I would love it if you could help me with my research of Pokémon, and fill up those pokedexs". We all nodded, still in sheer shock. Professor Juniper smiled, "very well then, off you go on your journey, good luck" !

We all nodded and exited the lab. The second we got outside Cheren asked his inevitable question.

"Okay so who wants to battle"? I stood still. I didn't want to battle, I had never planned on battling my Pokémon, I just wanted to collect them and train to make them stronger, but without battling. Looking back now I was very naïve to think that I could make Pokémon stronger without battling. My ultimate goal was to have every Pokémon ever discovered. I was brought out of my thoughts abruptly when I heard Bianca's high pitched voice.

"No way I need to get to Accumula town", I took that as my excuse too.

"Yeah, we wouldn't want to delay getting our pokedex's filled". I said wagging a finger at him.

Cheren shrugged, and we all started walking towards Route 1. Cheren and I headed towards the forest only to be stopped by an excited Bianca.

"Guys I have an idea", she shrieked, "let's have a contest to see who can capture the most Pokémon before getting to Accumula town, and we'll compare once we get there to see who won".

"Sounds good to me" said Cheren.

"Sounds good to me too" I added.

"Okay then", Bianca paused, "GO"!

She rushed off into the forest to the left. Cheren and I were still standing there, with obviously less energy than Bianca had. He grinned and waved as he headed straight. When they were both out of sight, I looked back at Nuvema town and smiled, then entered the forest to the right.

I walked for only a few minutes before I found a clearing, which is what I had been looking for. I set my bag down against a tree and pulled out Tepig's pokeball. Here we go, I thought; time to meet my first Pokémon.


	2. Enter Tepig

**So here goes the second chapter, it is rather short and not too awfully interesting, but I needed to get some introductions out of the way, the next chapter is when our story really picks up, and I will be hopefully posting that later today. **

**Again, please enjoy, and excuse my grammar and punctuation. :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 2: Enter Tepig**_

I clicked the small button on the ball and it enlarged to the size of my palm. I took a deep breath and threw the pokeball up in the air. A flash of light appeared and I caught it on its way back down. There before me stood a tiny Pokémon, it was orange and black and had a little red ball on its tail.

"Te- tepig" he seemed to ask in a question. When he saw me standing in front of him, he looked frightened and backed up a few steps.

"Hi Tepig" I cooed "I'm your trainer, my name is White".

He hesitated, then walked closer to me; I kneeled down and offered my hand. He sniffed it, looked up at me, and smiled.

"Tepig!" he seemed to shout in recognition that I was his owner. I had expected it to be harder to get Tepig's trust, but he seemed to like me from the beginning so I didn't complain. I petted his head.

"Tepig" I asked timidly. He looked up at me. "Can I give you a name?"

He contemplated it for a minute then nodded and smiled. I had thought about names, I didn't want to name any of my Pokémon except my first, and I had no clue what to name Tepig, but if I didn't give him one soon he would get used to me calling him Tepig, so I took the first thing that came to mind when I saw him.

"Okay, I would like your name to be Talace".

Tepig smiled, he liked the name. Talace took no time in starting to move on in the forest.

"Wait, where are you going" I called after him.

He turned back around, "Tepig-pig".

An answer easily understood, 'to start our journey silly'. It shocked me to have Talace trust me so early, being a fire type, I expected him to have a bad temperament to start with. But I didn't object as I wanted to start my journey as soon as possible too.

As we walked Talace held his head high, and seemed to be looking for something. At this moment I remembered Bianca's challenge, and my love for collecting Pokémon. Right, I needed to keep my eyes peeled. As we walked I heard a squeak, Talace positioned himself toward the sound and grinned. I looked over to see a small Pokémon that looked to be a descendent of some kind of rodent, a Patrat no doubt.

"Alright here we go" I mumbled under my breath.

I knew I had to battle to capture Pokémon, and I was hesitant, but Talace seemed very eager to get started. I knew what moves Talace had and started there.

"Tackle" I shouted and Talace threw himself forward to run into the small Patrat. It squeaked in discomfort, and then tried a tackle itself.

"Dodge it Talace" I told him, with a lot of concern if it hit. He skillfully and easily moved only a few inches to avoid it.

"Tackle again"

Once again a hit to the Patrat; after that it looked pretty tired.

"Okay, pokeball go!"

The little red dot had gone white in a matter of seconds and I had myself a Patrat. The pokedex in my pocket rumbled and I took it out, it had scanned Patrat's information into the database.

Cool, I thought, my second Pokémon. Talace pranced around shooting smoke balls out his nose, obviously proud of his accomplishment. I giggled and we kept walking, before I knew it I heard another rustle, okay another Pokémon I thought. Instead a small boy emerged; he had leaves in his hair and looked like he had been traveling in the forest for days.

"Are you okay?" I asked

He looked up and the biggest smile broke out on his face, "Lets battle!"

"Oh I don't know, I don't really want to ba-"

I was cut off by Talace standing in front of me, leaning, ready to go.

"Are you sure you want to?" I asked him

He looked back at me and nodded.

"Okay then I guess that answers it" said the boy, "Lillipup, I chose you!"

A small dog like Pokémon popped out of the ball and barked.

"Lillipup tackle" he yelled and the small dog hurled itself at Talace.

"Quick dodge it" I said, and Talace again easily avoided it. "You use tackle now Talace". He jumped towards the Lillipup.

"Dodge it" said the boy, but his little Pokémon was too slow and Talace made contact.

I smiled; Talace was no doubt a good battler. I looked down at him; he seemed to be concentrating very hard on something on the ground. I looked down and didn't see anything, then his head snapped up and he looked at me, turned his head and shot some small flames out his nose.

"Talace you learned ember!" I exclaimed. He snorted proudly and turned back to the Lillipup.

"Talace use ember" The flame balls once again protruded from his nose, and struck the small dog down, not to get back up.

The boy looked irritated as he called his Pokémon back.

"You were lucky" he said as he handed me some money, and walked back into the forest. I was shocked, I had battled, and actually won, and it felt great. A larger than life smile was on my face, and I looked down to Talace to see he looked identical.

"Great job" I said picking him up, and he snorted happily. I looked up at the sky to see it was almost completely dark; I better set up camp for the night. I found another clearing in a few minutes and lit a small fire with the help of Talace.

I pulled out some sandwiches and we ate our dinner, both extremely happy. After that I pulled out my sleeping bag for the night, and much to my surprise Talace curled up next to me. He fell asleep instantly, but my mind wandered. Having so much fun in a battle had thrown me completely off. After about a half hour of thinking, I pulled out a book that had an extreme amount of information on Pokémon battling in it. Before I had used it just as a reference to the different Pokémon, but this time I looked at their moves, and abilities.

When I was through reading I was more pumped than I had been in the morning, before I got Talace. I was going to be a trainer, I was going to challenge gyms, and see exactly how far I could go, and with a Pokémon who was as strong as Talace was, I knew I was in good hands.

But what I didn't know is what I would discover on my journey, that there were people with motives to separate Pokémon and humans, and the relationship I would have with their leader, but that's in the future.


	3. Mr Harmonia

**Okay, so our story really picks up here. Other than that I don't think I have anything to say. Thank you to anyone who is reading this!**

**I hope you enjoy! :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 3: Mr. Harmonia**_

By the evening of the next day I could see the dim lights of Accumula town. The past day I had managed to capture my own Lillipup, as well as challenge many trainers to battles, which only confirmed my theory of wanting to become a trainer myself.

Talace sat comfortably in my arms and looked curiously at the lights; as the path I walked on turned from grass to cement. 'I better get to the Pokémon center' I thought. Though I had made friends with my Patrat and Lillipup, they still weren't too healthy from their capture battles. Plus I needed to find Bianca and Cheren who no doubtedly would be in the Pokémon center as well. I walked for a while until the Pokémon center was in view, I then started to pick up the pace, which was when I felt a firm grip on the wrist of the hand that wasn't holding Talace. It pulled me back almost causing me to fall. I whirled around to see a very tall green haired man who looked very worried. I suddenly felt worried too. He looked different than anyone I had ever seen, he was wearing brown jeans with a white long sleeved shirt, but it was his necklace that intrigued me. Was it Saturn? It sure looked like a planet. That was when I noticed the key chain of what looked to be a gold Menger sponge hanging from one of his belt loops. Yes he was definitely no ordinary person.

He started to say something, hopefully the reason as to why he stopped me so abruptly, but stopped before any sound came out. His expression went blank and he continued to look me up and down from my toes, all the way up until our eyes finally met.

By this time I was very confused, and decided to speak up, "Can I help you?" I managed to ask.

His eyes widened, and he blinked several times, before his face went back to normal.

"Your Pokémon, just now, it was saying…." His sentence trailed off.

"What?" I questioned "My Pokémon didn't say anything".

His expression turned sad and he let go of my wrist.

"Oh, then I guess that means you can't hear it either" he looked very depressed by this time, but gave a slight smile. "My name is N" he said.

N, 'what an odd name' I thought, though that shouldn't mean too much coming from someone who was named after a color.

"My name is White" I replied.

He looked down at the ground with a frown on his face.

"Here" he said holding out my pokedex

"How did you get that?" I asked, in pure astonishment.

"You dropped it when I grabbed your arm" he said modestly and again offered me my pokedex.

I hadn't even seen him bend down to pick anything up, but I took it back.

"Th-thanks" I replied, still weirded out by this whole situation.

I expected him to turn and we would go our separate ways but he stood still, still staring at me.

"A pokedex huh, so I guess you are going to confine many Pokémon to pokeballs then. It makes you question whether they are really happy like that doesn't it".

"I-I guess?" I trailed my statement upwards making it sound more like a question.

"I would like to hear your Pokémon's voice, let's battle"

Talace had lost interest in the conversation almost as soon as it started but at the word battle his tiny ears perked up and he seemed to get excited.

"Okay" I agreed, this would be good practice for me.

Talace jumped out of my arms and stood ready at my feet.

"Very well then, go Purrloin" he called. His voice was different than anything I had heard. So calm, and smooth like velvet, it felt like you would be able to touch it in the air. I shook my head to clear it from these odd thoughts.

"Go Talace, ember" The little balls of fire again came out of my Pokémon's nose, but this time bigger, and quicker, he was getting stronger.

They hit the Purrloin dead on, and it almost didn't get back up from just one blow; yes, Talace was definitely getting stronger.

"Scratch Purrloin" he said, in a devilishly seductive voice. The purple cat jumped at Talace.

"Dodge it" I called. Talace jumped out of the way but not quite far enough, and a tiny inch long scratch was on his foreleg. I was worried, and wanted to ask him if he was okay, but before I could; he crouched and called out "Tepig Te". Being hit by an attack had almost made him more pumped for the battle.

"Okay, ember again" This time the little Purrloin was down for the count.

N's face had no emotion, and then a half smile appeared.

"I never expected Pokémon to say those things"

"What, Talace was talking?" I asked in bewilderment.

N nodded. "As long as Pokémon are confined in pokeballs they cannot become perfect beings. I have to change the world for Pokémon because they are my friends."

He called back his Purrloin, tipped his hat, and walked away. I widened my eyes and let out a sigh; dang that guy was weird, I'm not quite sure he was all there. But that voice. I shook it off as just a weird meeting with a trainer, picked up Talace, and continued to the Pokémon center.

Before I entered, I returned Talace to his pokeball, which was required in order for Nurse Joy to be able to give him a checkup.

The sliding glass doors opened silently as I walked in, and I immediately saw Cheren and Bianca sitting in the corner, both looking at their pokedexs'. I walked up to the counter and gave Nurse Joy my Pokémon, a total of three.

"They will be ready shortly" she said in a very chipper voice, and gave the tray with my Pokémon on it to a Chansey, who seemed very happy with its job.

I walked over to where Bianca and Cheren were, and they looked up.

"Oh White, you're here!" Bianca exclaimed, jumping up and crushing me with a hug. Cheren chuckled and greeted me with a nod.

"So," Bianca started "How many Pokémon do you have?"

"Three" I responded.

"Oh My Gosh, Cheren and I only have two each, we better get on top of it if we want to keep up with you".

I heard Cheren grunt and he looked back down at his pokedex.

"Trainers Bianca and Cheren, your Pokémon are ready for pickup". I heard Joy's happy voice announce over the speakers and they went to pick up their Pokémon.

"So, how-"Cheren's question was cut off with a loud sound. Looking out the Pokémon center's doors we saw a huge crowd of people cramming past each other, all talking and creating a loud buzz of voices.

"Wow, looks like something's going on, we should go check it out" Cheren said, curiosity getting the best of him.

Bianca, Cheren, and I walked outside and like the others, pushed to get near to the front. On a small stage-like shelf of rock stood a strange looking man. But something about him looked familiar.

He was dressed in I didn't know what, some large white cape thing with a purple eye on it. He was extremely tall, with a red square over one of his eyes, but I realized why he looked familiar when I looked at his bright green hair. He kinda looked like that guy I ran into, what was his name…

Oh yeah, N. I shrugged to myself, it wasn't normal to see two people in one day with such bright hair, but I suppose weirder things had happened.

The crowd was still abuzz with conversation but quieted when he started to speak.

"Hello, my name is Ghetsis" he started.

'Ugh', I thought, 'he couldn't be related to N, his voice was gravely, and angry sounding, nothing like the softness of N's'.

"I have come to talk to you about Pokémon" said Ghetsis.

"We have lived with Pokémon for a very long time, and some consider them even partners."

I considered Talace a partner, and I had only had him for a day and a half.

"But what if that isn't true. We work Pokémon hard under our command, and have you ever considered it is not a Pokémon's wish to be confined like that"?

The crowd started talking amongst themselves, but quieted when he started talking again.

"What if that were to be prevented by someone who could clearly divide them"?

'What' I thought, 'Pokémon love to be with humans, I had seen many examples of that. This man named Ghetsis talked in a weird manner, but preached the same things that N had to me'.

"Liberate"? Someone in the crowd questioned.

"Yes, liberate!" he exclaimed pointing into the crowd to where the voice came from. "And once we do for the first time, Pokémon and humans will stand as equals. Please consider what must be done to get along with Pokémon. And with that, I, Ghetsis, conclude this speech. Thank you for your attention".

With that he turned to the left and started walking away, six body guards appeared and walked beside him, shooting glares into the crowd.

"Wow that was weird, but I don't agree with anything he said" Cheren explained slowly, shaking his head.

"Ah, so have you taken into consideration what I said, after you heard him speak?" A unique voice came from behind me.

I whipped around to see the familiar face of N. How had he noticed that I was really taking in what Ghetsis had said? He sure was one mysterious guy. N took a step towards me and Cheren quickly stepped to intercept him, with his arm held out, protecting me.

"Who are you?" Cheren asked in an accusatory tone.

"I am N" he smiled and his eyes flicked to my face, which was covered with confusion as to why Cheren had acted the way he did. He always tried to protect me, ever since we were very small, so I suppose it wasn't any different, especially because he didn't know I already had met N.

N's eyes went back to Cheren. "And I see you have a pokedex, so what are your goals"?

Cheren was thrown off by the oddly worded question, and he stuffed his pokedex into his pocket.

"Well I guess my primary goal is to become champion." Cheren responded, still confused.

N nodded and took another step towards me. Cheren again lifted up his arm, and N suddenly became irritated.

"You know you really don't need to shield your friend, we have already met."

Cheren looked back at me, questioning if I really had. I nodded. He dropped his arm and moved to the side, giving N a warning glance.

N moved close to me and bent over so his face was mere inches from mine. He smiled and looked into my eyes. I pulled in a sharp breath and stared back.

"And what is your goal, White". N put an emphasis on my name, and with his voice it sounded wonderful, in that moment I really liked my name. I blinked a few times, obviously uncomfortable with a man I met only an hour ago being this close to me. N took notice and backed up, but still holding my gaze, waiting for me to answer his question.

"I-I guess to become close with my Pokémon through battling..." I paused, "And possibly become champion".

N nodded. "I had a feeling that would be your answer." He looked sad as he once again approached me. "Just really take into consideration what Ghetsis just said". He leaned over and pulled my hand up to his mouth, and planted a small kiss on it. "It was nice to see you again White".

He quickly dropped my hand and turned around to walk away, but he didn't do it fast enough to conceal his blush. And I'm sure he had seen mine too.


	4. If You Call, I'll Send You Away

**So here goes the fourth chapter. Im trying to stay pretty close to the story line of the game, but pretty soon it will stray from it some.**

**Again I appologize for the grammar and punctuation.**

**Thanks for all the lovely reviews... Enjoy! :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 4: If You Call, I'll Send You Away**_

After talking with N, Cheren and Bianca had gone their separate ways, both heading to Striaton City. Bianca didn't leave without her usual bone crushing hug, and Cheren didn't want to leave, worried N would come back and pester me, but with my pushing he decided to go on anyways.

I headed back into the Pokémon center, dragging my feet from a tiring day both physically and emotionally. That N guy was really out of line getting that close to me, and kissing my hand. But deep down I couldn't deny that my heart had fluttered a little bit, but it would have if any boy did that. I decided to try and keep my distance from him from now on.

I walked up to Nurse Joy and she handed me my three pokeballs and a small room card to the room I had decided to rent for the night. I trudged down the hall; my hand fumbled with the room key but finally got it open.

Once inside I splashed my face with water which seemed to wake me up enough to finish out the day.

"Come on out guys" I said, tossing all three pokeballs out and three small Pokémon appeared. Any scratches or marks on either Patrat or Lillipup had vanished and they looked good as new.

"I'm glad to see you guys are okay" I said with a sigh. Within a few seconds all three were chasing each other around and playing like there was no tomorrow. I smiled and sat down on the bed. I was really tired and if I planned on making it to Striaton City in a day I should get some sleep. I changed into my pajamas and let my hair down, carefully folding my clothes for the next day. By the time I crawled into bed my three Pokémon had worn themselves completely out and were settling down for bed too. Patrat and Lillipup laid down on the small couch that was unusually comfortable and Talace lumbered over and jumped up on the bed to curl up next to me.

"Goodnight guys, sleep well" I said with a yawn. I was met with a chorus of voices.

"Tepig-pig, rat-Patrat, Lilli-lil". I smiled and snuggled down.

Just as my eyes started to droop I was awakened with a deafening ring. I nearly hit the ceiling I jumped so high, and Talace let off a fire ball of fright that singed a hole in the curtain. However Lillipup and Patrat seemed pretty indifferent. I finally realized it was my X-transceiver and I picked it up.

"Hello" I said groggily rubbing my eyes.

"Oh hi honey, sorry did I wake you up?" It was my mother's voice and her happy face looked at me with concern.

"No but I was almost asleep" I responded.

"Oh, well I just wanted to see how you were doing, and if you were having fun."

"Yeah I'm fine, and I'm having a great time so far, I'm planning on challenging the Striaton gym day after tomorrow."

"Oh wow, I thought you didn't want to battle."

"Yeah, well after I tried it I realized how much fun it was, plus Talace is really good at it and likes to battle too".

"I had a feeling you would feel that way. But who is Talace"? My mother looked concerned.

I chuckled, "This is Talace" I said holding him up to the phone.

"Oh how cute, so you did get a Tepig."

"Mm Hmm" I nodded.

"Oh well I won't keep you from sleeping, but I just wanted to make sure you were all right."

"Yeah I'm fine mom, thanks for calling."

"You're welcome sweetheart, goodnight, sleep tight" she said sweetly.

"Thanks mom, goodnight."

With that we both hung up and I snuggled down for a good night's sleep.

* * *

The next morning I had packed, showered, and rounded up my Pokémon by 7:00, unusually early for a night owl like me, but I was determined to get to Striaton City by this evening.

I returned my room key to Joy, she would have a fun surprise with the small hole in the curtain courtesy of Talace, but I had paid extra for the room, and I figured that would cover it.

I walked to the far left side of Accumula town and walked into the terminal. I watched the yellow letters scroll across telling weather and news, nothing exciting so I went ahead and passed on through. When I exited I saw the sign for Route 2. 'Alright, here we go' I thought.

Route 2 was quite short and only took a few hours to get through; I managed to catch a Purloin which made me very happy as I liked the small cat Pokémon very much. I could see the end of Route 2 and the bustling people in Striaton City.

I was planning on hitting the Pokémon center first but was stopped by Bianca in a fit of excitement.

"Oh White you are already here, I figured since you stayed the night that you wouldn't be here today, but I guess you are, it's so great to see you, are you okay, you must have walked really fast," Her sentence was incredibly long and carried multiple questions so I just nodded.

"Hey, let's have a battle" she squealed.

"Okay" I grinned, that was more like it.

* * *

The battle was over in just a few minutes, I had easily obliterated her team and she seemed a little bit upset, but her usual smile returned quickly.

"Whoa, there was no way I could have won" she said shaking her head, "You are really strong White, I will have to start training my Pokémon even more, Bye bye!". She waved and skipped away.

As I walked through Striaton City I expected to see Cheren but I never did. I dropped Purloin off at the Pokémon center and went looking for the gym, perhaps since it was still afternoon I could challenge the it before the day was over, I would sure be ahead of schedule if that happened.

As I rounded the corner I could see the gym up ahead, and there was a large white sign hanging from one of the door knobs, "Closed".

What! That couldn't be, then I saw a smaller sign taped to the door. "Gym leader at trainer's school".

I had remembered seeing a school when I was heading to the Pokémon center and figured that was where he or she was. I marched back down to the school and entered.

I looked around; there were a few kids that looked to be a little younger than me and a teacher, but no one else. Then I saw Cheren sitting in the corner, reading a book. I chuckled to myself, I had seen him read so many books in his lifetime that I figured he couldn't fit any more information inside his head, but he always managed.

I walked over to him, "Hey Cheren, I didn't expect to see you here."

He jumped a little and looked up with a smile.

"Oh hey White, are you looking for the gym leader?" He scanned the room and looked back to me, "I guess you just missed him." I frowned a bit, man this guy was hard to catch.

"Hey would you battle with me, I would love to test out the use of items in a battle". I looked down and saw that that was the subject of the book he was reading.

"Sure" I agreed.

"We better be careful since we are battling inside" he explained as he stood up from his stool and shut his book.

He adjusted his glasses and sent out his first Pokémon with the widest grin I had ever seen on his usually serious face. Battling made him very happy, just like it did me. He sent out Oshawott like I figured.

"Let's go Talace" I said and Talace was in his crouched position within milliseconds. The surprised look on Cheren's face was hilarious because he didn't expect me to send out a fire type against a water one. His mouth twitched into a half smile and he suddenly became very confident.

"Oshawott, water gun".

"Dodge it Talace". I said calmly. I hadn't really trained much with any of my other Pokémon, so Talace got all the attention, and was very skilled because of it. I had challenged many many trainers on Route 2 and won each battle, so I started to not be so panicky when I fought.

The tiny otter Pokémon shot a powerful blast from its mouth; it was obviously trained very well too. But Talace dodged the spray easily, and waited for the next command.

"Tackle" I called and Talace threw himself to the little otter, so fast that Cheren didn't have time to call out a move or a dodge. The small Oshawott was thrown backwards and landed on its stomach, struggling to get up. Cheren looked shocked.

"Try Water Gun again Oshawott". He stood up and again shot a powerful blast of water out of his mouth.

"Dodge again" and Talace gracefully moved out of the way. The spray of water went past him and soaked the window to the school. It dripped down the wall and the teacher frowned at both of us pointing to us with two fingers, then bringing them to her eyes. I could just hear her saying in her head, 'I'm watching you", but she didn't speak up.

"Ember" I called. Cheren laughed, knowing that fire attacks wouldn't do much for water Pokémon, but I knew Talace could pull it off.

The balls of flame hit the little blue otter, and sent him flying backwards. Much to Cheren's surprise it didn't get back up.

"Return Oshawott" called Cheren "Purloin I choose you". A familiar purple cat came out of the pokeball and sat licking its paw, seemingly unimpressed by Talace.

"Talace ember" The balls of flame appeared and were rapid fire this time, about the size of golf balls, an extremely powerful attack, it might only take one hit this time.

"Dodge" called Cheren, but Purloin wasn't fast enough.

Sure enough after a single blow the Purloin was down.

Cheren grunted and called back his Pokémon.

"Wow, you are really strong, I didn't even get a chance to use any items." He admitted. "Here". He walked over to me and placed a small blue berry into my hand. "It's an Oran berry; it will help heal your Pokémon. He sighed and exited the school. Sometimes I felt bad beating trainers. I knew when I lost I felt terrible. But it pushed me to train even harder. I exited the school and walked back to the gym which had taken down the sign and there was a man with green hair standing in front. My heart skipped a beat, N? No, it was a different boy, who looked to not be much older than myself.

"Um hi, I'm here to challenge the gym leader." I stated trying to make myself look tough.

He looked at me, and squinted his eyes, silently judging.

"Well you don't look like a half bad trainer, I am the gym leader. What Pokémon did you chose to start your journey with?"

"Tepig" I answered

"A fire type, so it would be weak against water then". He nodded. "I suggest you go to the dream yard and train, you need to find something to counter water." He sighed and looked up at the sky which was rapidly getting darker. "Plus the gym is closed for the day". He quickly turned around and disappeared into the gym.

You have got to be kidding me, I thought, after all that the gym is closed. I sighed and walked back to the Pokémon center to pick up Purloin. It was really too late for anything, so I decided to visit the Dream Yard, whatever that is, in the morning. I once again rented a room and let out my now four Pokémon. Lillipup and Patrat had fit right in very easily, and Talace enjoyed their company almost instantaneously, but it took a lot longer for them to get used to Purloin.

By nature Purloins were independent creatures with an attitude. But after an hour or so with my Pokémon, they had put Purloin in its place, and now began to chase each other around. I was relieved they had finally taken a liking to the small cat, even though Lillipup kept its distance, but that was to be expected.

I sat criss cross on the bed with my book of Pokémon information open in my lap. I was looking for Pokémon that really stood out to me. I liked Purloin, but I didn't think a Liepard would be the best choice for an unbeatable team. I didn't see that in either a Stoutland or a Watchog either, so I resorted to just having fun training with those Pokémon, not too serious. Talace however would have an automatic slot on my team, being my first. I was more confused as to which Pokémon were the best by the time I was done, than I was when I started looking at the book. I finally realized that I simply needed to form bonds with my Pokémon, and if I did that, any Pokémon could be undefeatable.

Just then the small phone on the nightstand rang. It was a phone to the front desk so you could let Joy know if you needed anything, or if she needed you for anything, a much less likely option, but apparently it was happening now.

"Hello" I answered in a hesitant voice.

"Yes this is Nurse Joy, calling for White" she responded in her usual chipper tone.

"This is White" I answered, still hesitant.

"Um, I have someone here to see you, he says his name is" she paused and I heard muffled voices, her hand was over the mouthpiece to the phone.

"Like the letter?" I heard Joy ask in a confused tone.

"Um he says his name is N".

I froze. What, N was here? Why was he here, and more importantly, WHY WAS HE HERE? I really didn't want to talk to him, he was an odd seed and I wasn't sure if forming a friendship with him would be the best idea in the world. Plus he had kinda crossed a line in Accumula town.

"Um, tell him I don't want to see him" I said reluctantly. I kinda did want to see him, but I didn't at the same time, he was weird, but maybe in a good way. Plus I was interested because he claimed to be able to talk to Pokémon, which I wasn't sure if that was even true.

'No, White' I thought 'you should really keep your distance; there's something off about him'.

"Are you sure" piped up Nurse Joy, a little louder than normal, which made me realize she had been talking and I had been deep in thought, not listening.

"Yeah, I'm sure" I said in defeat.

I again heard muffled voices, then Joy was back.

"Okay, thanks for your time".

"Yeah" I half-heartedly responded, hanging up the phone.

I put up my book and laid down. It was already one in the morning; I should really get some sleep. Talace once again curled up next to me, I found I liked this; he gave off some serious heat that kept me warm all night. I snuggled down with my Pokémon, and fell asleep easily.


	5. The First Gym Battle

**This chapter is kind of meh to me I guess, I had to get some introductions and story line out of the way. That is why I am posting two chapters today, so the next one I do will be much more interesting.**

**Okay, weird intro, anyway, Enjoy! :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 5: The First Gym Battle**_

I woke up early the next morning, much to my surprise. I figured it was because this was the day I was to challenge my first gym, and I was extremely excited. I looked around the room to see all my Pokémon, including Talace still sleeping. I silently slipped out of bed careful not to wake him up. He needed as much sleep as he could get, since he would have a day full of battling today.

I took a shower and got dressed. While packing my bag my Pokémon began to wake up one by one, and started once again, to chase each other around. I was worried Talace would exert himself and he picked up on that so he sat to the side and just watched this morning. He could pick up on what I was feeling so easily, it was kind of freaky sometimes.

I returned them to their pokeballs and prepared to find the Dream Yard. I wandered around the city; most everyone was still asleep, except for a few people ordering donuts, and a mailman making his rounds. It took me a sad amount of time to find it but finally I found the Dream Yard. When I entered I couldn't see anything too special about it. The Dream Yard was just a small clearing with a couple of people walking around. There looked to be the ruins of what was once a building, but the only door was blocked by a tree. I scoffed, why did the gym leader want me to come here?

I sat on a large boulder and let out Talace; as long as I was here we might as well get some training in. After a while of practicing his moves, I was approached by a small girl.

"Are you a trainer"? She hesitantly asked.

"Yes" I responded, wondering why she wanted to know.

Her demeanor suddenly changed and she became a bit sassy.

"Well here" she said handing me a pokeball.

"What is it" I asked, figuring it held a potion or TM.

"It's my Pokémon, I've gotten bored with it, and you should just keep it". She said and quickly ran away.

I sat bewildered, 'why would anyone want to give up their Pokémon'. I made a conscious decision to make a good home for this Pokémon, so I let it out of its ball.

It was a small green monkey, a Pansage.

"Aww how cute" I said out loud.

It looked confused and suddenly worried. I finally realized that it wanted to know where its trainer was. I bent down and gently explained the situation to the frightened thing. It was hesitant to believe me, but after a while, it began to have a smile on its face, and Talace made him feel right at home.

There were a lot of strange coincidences here, one being that the gym leader had told me to go find a grass type, and I was simply given one.

The Pansage wore itself out in a matter of minutes so I returned it to its ball, to start training with Talace again.

We trained for about another hour and by the end Talace was pumped, and had even learned Flame Charge, which would definitely come in handy in a battle.

Leaving a pile of burnt trees and leaves in our wake, we headed off to the gym.

It took me a few minutes to get up the courage to enter. Talace was getting impatient with me, so when I finally decided to go inside, he rushed ahead to push open the door, only to realize it was supposed to be pulled. So with a small bump on his forehead we entered the gym.

There was a very kind man who gave me a bottle of water and explained that I would be put through different tests before I could challenge gym leaders. For this gym it was very simple, just answer which type was strong against another.

I flew through the curtains with the questions on them.

Water is strong against fire.

Fire is strong against grass.

Grass is strong against water.

And finally I was standing before the gym leader once again.

"Welcome to the gym my name is Cilan".

A very hyper red haired boy then stepped out from behind Cilan, "And I'm the fire freak, Chili".

Freak was right, his hair was insane.

Then another very calm blue haired boy stepped out from behind Cilan on the other side.

"I'm Cress, I train water Pokémon".

"As for me", said Cilan "I prefer grass types".

"You may be asking why there are three of us" continued Cilan.

I nodded vigorously, I was very confused.

"Well let me explain", piped up Chili.

"Whatever type of Pokémon you chose as your first determines who you battle."

"That's right" responded Cilan, "And your first Pokémon was a fire type".

"Meaning you will be battling me" said Cress as he stepped forward. Cilan and Chili backed up and sat down in two chairs, they would be spectators for this battle.

"It's a pleasure" he said, as he bowed.

Man, what a gentleman, I thought.

"Come on our Panpour" he called.

A small blue monkey came out; it looked similar to my Pansage, but was a different color.

"Let's go Talace" I called and Talace stepped out in front of me, ready to go.

"Water gun Panpour" Cress called out in a very calm voice.

The monkey jumped up in the air and sprayed a powerful blast of water from its mouth, pointing downward at Talace.

"Dodge, and use Tackle."

Talace dodged it, and the area where Talace had been was soaked. I was sprinkled with the aftermath, but I didn't realize it, as all my thoughts were concentrating on battling.

Talace sprung towards the Panpour, using the momentum already created by the monkey coming back down to the ground, to make the tackle incredibly powerful.

"Alright, now flame charge" I called, and Talace turned on a dime to shoot a blast of spiraling flame that would keep the Panpour from getting up.

Cress looked shocked as he called back his Pokémon. He gulped.  
"Alright, your turn Lillipup".

Before the dog had come out of the ball completely he was already calling a move.

"Bite". The small dog hurdled towards Talace, getting a huge chomp on one of his legs.

Talace squealed in pain.

I drew in a breath, 'uh oh' gotta think quick, I thought.

"Ember" I called. Talace pointed his head down to where the Lillipup had its teeth clamped on his leg, and shot out an ember attack which successfully shook off the small dog.

"Quick, Flame Charge". I yelled.

When the powerful blast of fire hit the dog, everyone knew it was over.

"Wow, that was quick". Cress said looking at the ground.

I ran over and picked up Talace, congratulating him, and promising to take him to a Pokémon center right away.

"Wow you are powerful" admitted Cress. I don't believe Cilan or Chili could have bested you either." He reached into his pocket. "Here, it's the Trio Badge, its proof of your win here at the Striaton City Gym.

I took it and smiled, putting it in my bag. "Thanks" I said with a huge smile on my face.

Cress waved and all three disappeared, walking into another room. I headed back to the front of the gym. The man that had greeted me was very proud of my accomplishment.

"Make sure you forever remember that magnificent moment that you got your first gym badge". He shook my hand.

I would definitely remember this moment forever, and I hoped to have many moments like this again.

* * *

After dropping off Talace and Pansage at the Pokémon center I headed back outside. I wasn't sure what I was going to do. It was only 10:00 in the morning, and I had already beaten the gym, which was the only thing on my agenda for the day.

I sat down on a bench near the gym, and just relaxed, but I was brought out of my calm state by a high pitched voice.

"Yahoo, I'm Fennel" said a girl with glasses and long purple hair. Holy cow, I thought I had long hair, and it went down to my hips, hers almost touched the ground.

"Are you White" asked the girl named Fennel.

"Yes, my name is White" I responded, wondering why all these weird people kept confronting me.

"Professor Juniper wanted me to give you something" she said. "Follow me!"

She skipped off, and I had to break into a short run to catch up with her. She reminded me of Bianca, so hyper and happy all of the time, without fail.

She walked me to the southern edge of town where there were multiple buildings with apartments. She climbed up some stairs and opened a door.

"This is my house" she explained. She turned back around to me. "Okay, now for a proper introduction".

"I'm Fennel, and I research trainers. Professor Juniper and I go way back to the college days, and she asked me to help you." She walked over to a desk and rummaged around in a small green bag for a while, before she returned with a small silver disk in her hand.

"Here, this is the HM 'Cut'; you can use it outside of battle to cut down some trees". She gave me a smile. I put the small CD in a slot in my TM and HM case, it snapped in perfectly.

"Okay, now, can you do me a favor?" she asked, her eyes pleading.

I didn't have anything else to do for a while so I figured I didn't have anything to lose.

"Sure" I responded, "What do you need"?

"Well I would love it if you would go to the Dream Yard and collect some Dream Mist from a Pokémon called Munna that lives there." She handed me a jar.

"It would go great in there, thanks!" she skipped off into another room.

Well I guess I didn't have much of a choice now.

I clomped down the steps and walked back to the dream yard. 'Where would a Munna be'? I thought.

I peeked around the tree that was blocking the door, and saw that there were multiple patches of grass, which is where Pokémon loved to hide, I figured if I _was_ going to find a Munna, it would be there. I stared at the tree, then remembered what Fennel had said about the move 'Cut'. I took out the small disk, it said that Patrat could learn it, so after I had read the instructions on the disk, I called out Patrat. The disk had given detailed steps in which to teach the move. I followed all of them, and in about 10 minutes Patrat had learned Cut. 'Cool' I thought.

"Alright Patrat, use cut on that tree" I said pointing to the scraggly tree that blocked the entrance.

He hurdled towards the tree using his sharp claws to easily cut it down. It fell with a crash.

The minute the tree was down I heard a high pitched shriek. I jumped and looked to my left to see a once again elated Bianca.

"Oh hi White, I didn't expect to see you here. Are you looking for the mystical Pokémon too? Although I don't really understand how all that 'showing dreams' business works".

She was obviously looking for Munna too, I figured we could search together, that was when a low pitched sound came from within the building.

We both rushed through the opening to see two men kicking a Munna.

"Cough up the Dream Mist" said one of them, kicking with a little more power than he had before. The small creature cried out in discomfort.

"WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Bianca yelled at the two people so loud, they both jumped and one fell against the wall, using it for support to push himself back onto his feet.

"Well, we are Team Plasma, working to liberate Pokémon day and night". Said one of the men.

"As for what we are doing, Munna and Musharna give off dream mist. And dreams can influence people a lot. So we need this Dream Mist to help liberate Pokémon." The other man explained, kicking Munna again at the end of his sentence.

"So you are kicking it just for that" Bianca shrieked.

"Yes" one of the men answered calmly. "We are doing this for the good of Pokémon, and to help them be rid of their trainers".

He got a gleam in his eyes. "In fact how about we start with you" he said turning towards Bianca, he took out a pokeball, ready to fight.

"What?" Bianca looked very worried, she then turned to me "White, help!" she had tears in her eyes. I was ready to battle when I realized that I didn't have Talace. He was being treated in the Pokémon center right now. I froze; I hadn't battled with any of my other Pokémon. But I did just teach Patrat that new move, so I decided to use him.

It turned out cut was a good weapon, I powered through both of their Pokémon easily. They were both very upset.

"I can't believe we lost" whispered one, "but we still must have the Dream Mist" he yelled kicking Munna again.

Suddenly out of the corner of my eye I saw a familiar figure. The guy named Ghetsis was rapidly approaching.

"What is this?" he questioned.

The two grunts looked very scared and bowed their heads.

"We of Team Plasma are here to separate Pokémon from foolish humans, and you can't accomplish that task" he spoke in a loud voice, irritated at his workers.

So Ghetsis was part of Team Plasma? There was so much information given to me so far today that my head was already spinning.

One grunt looked a little confused and whispered something to the other. The grunt nodded and responded, "He is Lord Ghetsis, the one who gave that speech to fool all those people."

Fool? I had listened to that speech. How was he trying to fool people with that?

Ghetsis grunted and walked away.

"Oh man are we going to get it" whispered one grunt, visibly shaking.

"Maybe if we go apologize really quickly, he won't punish us".

The other grunt nodded and they both ran after Ghetsis.

Suddenly a large pink figure came out from behind one of the walls, a Musharna. It talked to the Munna, no doubted asking if it was alright. Once the Musharna was convinced, it looked at both Bianca and I, then followed by Munna, disappeared into the forest.

We both stood there for a while, eyes wide, but were distracted with something on the ground. It was almost clear, but not translucent. It was very hard to describe what it looked like.

We were brought out of our thoughts by Fennel running to us.

"Sorry I couldn't wait any longer; did you get any Dream Mist?"

I shook my head, "We did see a Munna and Musharna, and they left that" I said pointing to the slime on the ground.

"OOOOOH" shrieked Fennel, grabbing the jar out of my hands. She carefully scooped it all up into the jar and closed the lid.

"This, is Dream Mist" she said holding up the jar for us both to see. Our mouths opened, it was weird, but kind of pretty. It almost seemed to give off a sound.

"Thank you so much White" Fennel said, giving a look of pure happiness, "I'm off to go do some research." She waved and ran off.

Bianca turned to me, "Well I don't know what you are going to do, but I'm off to go after that Pokémon we saw" she also waved and exited.

I was shocked, but spent the rest of the day in this mystical place, it was calming. I was about to leave when I saw a Munna, and was able to easily catch it.

I sighed, I had six Pokémon now, granted I only had caught five, the other was weirdly given to me, but still that was six Pokémon. I grinned and headed back to the Pokémon center for a good night's sleep.


	6. Running Into Trouble

**So Chapter 6, here goes. I actually like this one, the last one was bleh, and I'm excited to have one I am realitively happy with. Gotta get this N and White thing movin if this story isn't going to be eternally long. Haha, excuse my bad grammar and punctuation again, I'm trying to get better.**

**Anywho, Enjoy! :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 6: "Running Into" Trouble**_

I woke up the next morning to a knock on my door. I groaned and looked at the clock. It was three in the morning, what the hell would someone want this early? I dragged my feet over to the door and opened it up. Much to my surprise it was Cheren.

"Hey, did I wake you up" he asked taking notice of my pajamas.

I gave him a blank look, "No, I was just polishing my sword collection, and thought, hey, it would be a lot easier to wear my pajamas" I said in a dry tone.

He paused; "You have a sword collection?" he looked skeptical.

I banged my head against the door frame. "No Cheren, I was being sarcastic, of course I was sleeping." I giggled at his ignorance.

"Oh" he said, obviously a little embarrassed.

I felt a light brush against my leg and saw a blurry eyed Talace at my feet, wondering who was here so early.

"Hey Talace" Cheren said softly.

"Tepig-pig" Talace answered and lumbered back in to bed.

"So why are you here?" I questioned rubbing my eyes.

"Oh yes, sorry, um I just wanted to know if you knew where Bianca was".

I sighed, "I don't know, have you tried the Dream Yard, that's where I saw her last. Why do you need to talk to her so early in the morning anyway"?

"Oh, we were going to head on to Nacrene City together," he took in a breath, "You don't want to come, do you?" he asked, looking at the ground.

I yawned, "No, I'll start heading over in the morning."

Just then Bianca came skipping down the hall.

"There you are Cheren, I was looking all over for you", she turned and looked to me, then back to Cheren. "You woke up White"? She questioned and looked at his face. "And you didn't get slapped?" she gasped in shock. "Wow, you're lucky".

With that she waved good bye to me, and dragged Cheren down the hall by his arm.

'Man I have weird friends' I thought to myself as I climbed back in bed.

* * *

I woke up early again the next morning; just a few hours after Cheren had knocked on my door. 'Man this Pokémon journey thing is throwing off my sleep patterns' I thought while shaking my head. I now had six Pokémon, and they all had made great friends with each other. I knew after a while I would be transferring some of them to go and live with Professor Juniper, but I wasn't going to worry about that now.

I was ready to go today by 7:00, the same time. 'Well at least I'm consistent', I thought.

I walked to the western edge of the town, ready to move on. As I headed toward Route 3 I realized exactly how beautiful this city was, there were beautifully trimmed hedges, two large ones were cut to resemble a Pikachu. There were fountains and ponds all around. As I headed on to Route 3 I realized it was going to be just as pretty. As I continued along I passed a few buildings. A preschool, a Pokémon daycare, all beautifully painted, and very inviting. However if I thought I was going to get to Nacrene City today, I again needed to not stop and smell the roses.

As I headed through Route 3 I saw more Pokémon than I could have ever dreamed of. I ran into one every five minutes or so. By the end I had caught a Pidove, a Blitzle, and an Audino. Since I had six Pokémon all three were transferred to Professor Juniper, through an odd transaction. As soon as I caught the Pokémon, the pokeball it was in would turn a bright white and soon disintegrate into thin air. At first I was worried if they actually were at the lab, but I figured once I hit Nacrene that I could call Professor Juniper and make sure they were fine. As I walked I thought I would transfer back both Blitzle and Pidove. But who would I give to Juniper? By the time I turned the corner to the last stretch before the terminal, I had decided. I would send Lillipup and Munna.

Happy with my decision I crossed the bridge to get to the terminal. I peeked over into the water, it was incredibly clear, and I could see some water Pokémon swimming under its surface. However I didn't have a fishing rod, so they wouldn't be possible to catch just yet.

I put my hands in my pockets and whistled as I entered the terminal, and exited in Nacrene City. I walked along an abandoned railroad track and passed many many brick buildings on my way to the Pokémon center.

As I rounded the corner nearest the Pokémon center, I was met by Cheren and Bianca; they both looked worn out. Cheren was a little out of breath, and Bianca's normally perfect hair had some going in every which way.

"What happened to you guys" I said, stifling a laugh.

"We ran into Team Plasma" answered Cheren, "They had taken this girl's Pokémon, so we promised to get it back, but it took a while". He sighed and Bianca started fixing her hair.

"Yeah, I thought it would only take like, an hour, but it turned out to take closer to four". Bianca complained while pulling out a small mirror.

"Man those Team Plasma people sure are a pain," I said watching Bianca slowly stroke her hair. "So did you get the Pokémon back?" I asked.

"Yeah, we did" Cheren mumbled, "They sure are some sore losers though" he said scratching the back of his head.

"We better get to the Pokémon center" replied Bianca, finally done fixing her hair.

"Yeah" Cheren agreed, and we all headed uptown to find it.

Once we did we headed inside, they dropped off all their Pokémon with Joy, and I dropped off all but two.

I walked over to the phone and carefully dialed Professor Juniper's number.

"Hi this is the Nuvema town lab, Juniper speaking. Oh hi White, how are you". She looked happy to see me.

"I'm doing good, I just wanted to see how my Pokémon were doing".

"They are doing great" she said. I saw three small faces pop up to look at me. It was my Blitzle, Pidove, and Audino.

"Hi guys" I smiled.

They all smiled back and chattered happily amongst themselves. Once a Pokémon was caught, it almost always warmed right up to its trainer, even if in a lab.

"Would you like to transfer any Pokémon" Professor Juniper asked.

"Yes actually" I replied. I one by one placed Lillipup's ball on the machine, transferred it, then Munna's ball, and transferred it.

"Okey Dokey, I got them successfully" chirped Juniper. She let them out of their balls and I could see the tips of their ears walking, or in Munna's case floating, around their new surroundings.

"And which Pokémon would you like"?

"My Blitzle and my Pidove please" I answered.

She transferred both.

"Thank you so much for catching all these Pokémon White. Is it okay if I do research on the ones you have staying with me?"

"Sure thing" It was my pleasure.

"Okay then, gotta go, bye", she smiled and waved before the screen clicked to black.

I hung up the phone and walked over to where Cheren and Bianca were sitting. They were both looking at a map of Nacrene city, so I joined them.

"Right there, is where the Gym is" Cheren said pointing to a building on the map. "It is also a museum" he said, proud of the knowledge he possessed.

"Cool a museum" I said excitedly, "I think I'll visit right now, anyone want to come?"

They both looked at me with unimpressed expressions.

"I think we're good" said Bianca, "museums are boring".

Cheren nodded, "I gotta wait for my Pokémon anyway".

I shrugged and exited the Pokémon center heading to the museum. I had taken a map of Nacrene city and was so engrossed in it that I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going. I clumsily climbed up the museum steps, just in time to full force run into someone. I was knocked to the ground, my mind finally pulled off of the map. Great, I wasn't looking where I was going, _again_, I thought as I adjusted my hat which had fallen over my eyes.

"Oh, I'm so sorry White" I heard a familiar silky voice say. I scrambled to my feet and looked up at the face I knew it would be.

N looked concerned. "Are you alright?" he asked bending down a bit to make sure I was okay.

"Yeah, I'm fine" I answered looking at the ground and crossing my arms behind my back.

"I'm sorry I ran into you like that" replied N.

"No it was my fault I wasn't looking where I was going". I quickly answered.

There was an awkward pause, but N broke it with a chuckle. I looked up at his face.

"Well, I can find out where you are staying, and visit to try and get to talk to you, or I guess I can just walk around town, and you will literally run into me".

'Oh yeah' I thought. I had totally forgotten that he had come to the Pokémon center where I was staying. And I had said I didn't want to see him. I was suddenly very embarrassed.

"Oh, sorry about that" I said, blushing a bit.

N sighed, "No, it's okay". A brief pause. "Though those flowers did go to waste" he said a little quieter, a blush now arising on his cheeks too.

For the next few minutes we stood there like idiots with red faces not saying a word.

I felt bad, he had brought me flowers. But why did he bring me flowers? He was one odd man.

Looking back now, I was very oblivious.

N cleared his throat and scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Well it was nice to see you White" he said. I looked up to say the same but before I could another face appeared next to his and scared me. I drew in a quick breath and stepped back only to realize it was a Pokémon.

N looked over to his shoulder and laughed. "It's just Zorua, White, you two should probably meet anyway."

I reached my hand up and petted the tiny black and red Pokémon; it seemed to purr when I did. I smiled, it was very cute.

"Good, I'm glad you are getting along". It was weird the way he was talking about Zorua, like I was meeting his brother, or mother, or best friend. It seemed very important to him that we liked each other.

I smiled, "He's sweet" I said scratching Zorua's head.

N grinned again, and I withdrew my hand.

"So" N started, then paused.

His index finger lifted up my chin so I was looking directly into his eyes. They were rich green in color, and sparkled in a way I hadn't seen before.

"Have you thought any further about what I had said" he asked, his eyes full of wonder.

"Um", I said straining to bring together a coherent sentence.

"Yes" I answered.

He leaned down closer, hope in his eyes. "And what do you think now".

I blinked a few times, "I still don't exactly agree with you" I answered.

This was clearly not the answer he wanted and he looked at the ground.

"That's too bad" he said, bringing his focus back to me.

"Just….. still think about it" he said leaning closer.

"I hope to see you again soon, White". He leaned so close that our lips were only about an inch apart. If I had half a brain I would have pulled away, but I didn't, I just stood completely still, eyes wide, looking into his. Neither of us breathed. And finally after what seemed like an hour, he reluctantly tore away from my glance and started walking away.

I looked after him and heard him mumble under his breath, "And hopefully next time you will agree to see me", I saw a small smile on his face, and realized I was smiling too.

I stood there for a few minutes, regulating my breathing before I headed back to the Pokémon center for the night; though I had an unusually hard time falling asleep, because there was only one thing, or should I say person, on my mind.


	7. A Day of Changes

**Okay, so I have some comments to give for this chapter. Yes it is extremely long, I didn't realize how long it was until I was done writing it, but hey, I cover a ton in this chapter, so I'm happy with it.**

**Two. If anything seems out of character I am sorry. I personally don't think it is, but then again I am writing it, so it's a little different from my perspective. **

**Three. I got the inevitable question of when Brock was going to appear. I think after the next two chapters he will make his debut. I need to get to a place in the story where I can logically bring him in, and that will be in just a bit. So I am trying to move this story along swiftly, I promise.**

**I really doubt any of that made much sense, as I tend to be a rambler.**

**Just getting some stuff out of the way, you can disreguard this mess of explanations if you like, that is fine with me. haha.**

**Please enjoy! And thanks for the reviews and follows, they are very much appreciated! :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 7: A Day of Changes**_

I woke up late the next morning; it was almost noon by the time I was ready to go. I had taken my time getting ready but started moving a little faster when I realized because of bumping into N yesterday, I never in fact actually got to see inside the museum.

I was sitting at a small dresser brushing my wet hair from taking a shower when I heard a knock on the door.

I slowly walked over and opened it, still brushing my hair.

It was Cheren and he looked elated.

"What's with you today" I asked in shock at his smile, something you usually didn't see on Cheren's face.

He laughed; "I got my second gym badge, that's what's with me today" he swayed from side to side, hardly able to contain his excitement. He reached into his bag and held out his badge, just a few inches from my face. It was incredibly shiny, and suddenly I really wanted one too.

"Anywho" Cheren said carefully putting his badge back in its case, "I'm heading off to the next gym, good luck with your battle, and see you later".

By the end of his sentence he sounded almost like an announcer, so happy with his accomplishment.

Bianca had left early this morning, and Cheren was now leaving. I decided I wouldn't head on till tomorrow. I was going to fall behind, but I figured slow and steady wins the race, right?

I blow dried my hair, and the loud whirring sound of the hair dryer woke up all my Pokémon.

Blitzle and Pidove fit right in. Pokémon made friends so easily, and trusted almost everyone. Us humans could really learn from that.

I returned them all to their balls and carefully tied my hair up into its usual ponytail.

I walked back to the museum. I figured I would look around for a while before I actually challenged the gym, I had always loved museums.

I walked up the steps, grateful I didn't run into anyone this time, and entered.

There were numerous glass cases holding rare Pokémon artifacts, two of which really caught my eye. They were labeled, "Dark Stone", and "Light Stone". They were very pretty and almost seemed to glow.

After an hour or so of looking I had seen it all and headed towards the back. A man intercepted me.

"Are you looking for the gym"? He questioned.

"Sure am" I answered in a chipper tone, as this day was going great so far.

He smiled. "You will find a very strong gym leader in there" he raised his eyebrows, looking like he expected me to walk away because of this fact.

"I know" I said, standing my ground, "That is why I want to challenge him or her".

He chuckled, "Very well then" he said, putting a key in the lock to a well camouflaged door. He opened it, and I began to walk through, but he caught my arm.

"Oh, and by the way. They gym leader is my wife." He let go, and closed the door behind me.

What an odd fact to share, I thought as I continued down a small hallway. It soon opened up into a moderately sized room with tons of bookshelves. There were people sitting around, some reading books, some just staring off into space. I wondered if they were trainers too. By the look of it they were, they had many pokeballs, and looked to be waiting.

Does she really have that many challengers that she has a waiting room, I thought.

I shrugged. Well I guess I'm going to be here for a while so might as well pick out a book to read.

Just then I saw a small poster on the wall titled, "Hello, My Pokémon". I looked at it for a while; it was really beaten up, and tattered, with sun damage that had faded the letters.

Then I remembered what the man at the first gym had said; that I would be put through a test before I could challenge any gym leader.

'Wouldn't the challenge be before the waiting room' I thought to myself, the wheels beginning to turn.

I looked back to the poster. It was very out of place, everything in this room was posh, and it had to have cost a fortune to furnish it. And the tiny poster was so worn, there had to be something special about that saying.

Finally after a few minutes of thinking, it clicked. 'Of course, it must be the title of a book'. I went around until I found the H's as everything was alphabetized by title; and pulled out the book that read, "Hello, My Pokémon".

Sure enough, inside the cover was a note. It gave a small riddle, and sent me to find another book, and then another, and another. After reading about eight different clues I had finally reached the last one. The note inside read, "You don't just have brawn, but brains. I look forward to battling you." At the bottom it was signed, 'Lenora'.

Suddenly a bookcase on the far wall began to move and revealed a small stairwell. I carefully put the book back and walked towards it. Many trainers that were sitting on the ground looked confused, but most just silently watched me as I passed down the steps.

When I reached the bottom I was met with a booming voice.

"Hi there, I am the curator of the Nacrene City museum, _and_ the leader of the Nacrene City gym, that's right, I'm Lenora".

She was a large woman with puffy hair, and an overflowing personality, and the minute I saw her, I was extremely excited to battle her.

"So how do you battle with your lovingly raised Pokémon? Let's see". She said happily releasing her first Pokémon.

Man this woman gets down to business, I thought.

"Alright Talace, let's go" I called and let my Pokémon out.

It was a match between a Tepig and a Herdier.

I was very worried at first, having Talace go up against an evolved Pokémon, but I had faith in him, and within a minute I was confident again.

"Alright Herdier, take down" she called sticking out her hip to one side and pointing toward Talace.

"Dodge and use flame charge" I called.

Talace skidded out of the way, to then quickly turn around and shoot his searing flames that knocked the dog out in one fell swoop.

"Oh, so I see how it's gonna be" she said returning her Pokémon.

"Let's go Watchog" she called and a large creature appeared.

Don't worry White, I said to myself, it will be just like battling the last one.

"Alright, Watchog, retaliate" she called.

Oh no, retaliates power was doubled since Herdier had just fainted.

"You got to dodge it Talace" I yelled, but he couldn't get out of the way in time; and the attack hit full force.

Talace lay on the ground, not moving.

"Please get up Talace" I whispered to him. A move like that should have knocked the poor thing out, but my Talace had a fighting spirit. He quivered as he tried to stand up, his legs shaking, ready to give out at any moment.

"Finish this with Crunch, Watchog" Lenora ordered and the Watchog barreled down on Talace.

My small Pokémon looked up, just to see it coming right at him, and let out a battle cry, "Tepiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig" and he turned bright white.

The Watchog stopped in its tracks and everyone's eyes were glued to the slowly morphing white mass that was once my Tepig. As the brightness started to fade I realized what had happened.

Talace had evolved.

He now stood about a foot and a half taller, and _literally_ stood on two legs now, instead of four. He looked pumped and ready to go, as he lifted his arms above his head as a human would to flex their muscles.

I was speechless for a second I was so proud.

"Good job Talace" I whispered. He looked back at me and snorted, smiling.

"Alrighty then, flame charge Talace" I called. The flames came out, and what I saw amazed me.

They were huge, about double the size before the evolution.

'I guess Pokémon really do get stronger when they evolve' I thought to myself.

It hit the Watchog no problem, and now _it_ was the one having troubles getting up.

"Come on Watchog, you can do it" cried Lenora.

Just then Talace began thrusting his arms out in front of him, almost like a move. Wait, when Tepig evolves to Pignite, it learns arm thrust.

I squealed. "Ooooh, Talace use arm thrust" he nodded and snorted a smoke ball before hurdling at the Watchog, starting to hit it with precise movements. Finally after only two hits, the Watchog flew back into the wall, not to get up.

Lenora looked surprised, but smiled.

"Wow, that was an incredible battle" she mused, returning her Pokémon to its ball.

She calmly walked forward and slipped something into my hand. I looked down to see it was the badge.

"You are the perfect trainer to give this to" she said smiling, "The Basic Badge, proof of your win at the Nacrene City gym".

Just then her husband burst through the door, "The skull has been taken by Team Plasma".

We all ran upstairs. I ran a little slower, as I was getting tired of dealing with these Team Plasma people.

By the time I had gotten up the stairs, Team Plasma had the Dragonite skull in hand, and threw a couple smoke balls down, disappearing into the mist in all the chaos.

We all coughed. The smoke was a horrible smell and burned my eyes to no end.

Once it cleared, they were nowhere to be found.

"I ain't letting them get away with one of _my _exhibits" Lenora said running out the front door to the museum.

A loud "OOF" was heard, and Lenora's husband and I, ran outside to see Lenora, and three other people sitting on the ground, rubbing their foreheads.

Sure enough, two of them were Bianca and Cheren. I shook my head.

When Lenora stood up, she looked past to where Team Plasma had run and snapped her fingers.

"Hey we can still catch up to them" said her husband.

After that it was a wild goose chase.

* * *

Finally after two hours, multiple battles, and mostly just chaos and hubbub with six people chasing after Team Plasma, all the while, doing this in a forest, we had gotten back the Dragonite skull.

"Thank you so much White" panted Lenora.

"No problem" I smiled "Thanks for the badge".

"Ooh so you got one too?" asked Cheren.

"Yup, and why are you two here, I thought you were heading on to Castelia City" I questioned, with my eyebrows pushed together in confusion.

"Yeah we were on our way when Fennel called us and asked us to take a trip back to her lab to see her." Bianca said shaking her head.

"Well did she have anything exciting to say"? I asked, wondering if she found anything out about the dream mist.

"Not really, just some boring sciency stuff". She said shrugging her shoulders.

I rolled my eyes and looked back to Lenora.

"Oh, White" Lenora said pointing a finger in the air. "This is Burgh" she said putting a hand on the shoulder of the mystery man that had been helping us this whole time, hardly saying a word.

"He is the Castelia City gym leader".

He smiled and held out his hand. "Nice to meet you White, I take it you will be challenging my gym soon"?

I nodded and shook his hand.

"Sure am" I said giving him a pleasant smile.

He wore a green shirt with a multicolored scarf that was now, after running around for so long, hardly hanging on.

"Anyway," he said "Lenora, I was hoping to get a personal tour of your museum." He partially pleaded, looking hopeful.

She laughed, "Of course, anything for you Burgh". They both walked off, back towards the museum with her husband quick to follow.

I turned to Cheren and Bianca.

"We better get going if we are going to make it to Castelia City before it's completely dark" said Cheren looking up at the dimming sky.

Bianca nodded and we said our goodbyes.

I had decided to head on back and stay in the Pokémon center once again, so I put one tired foot in front of the other on my way, hoping it wouldn't be so late that I couldn't get some more training in.

* * *

I was almost back to the Pokémon center. Throughout the day's activities I had gotten a good look at Pinwheel forest, my next destination for catching Pokémon. As I neared the museum I peeked into the window to see Lenora showing Burgh around. His face looked like the face of a kid in a candy store.

'And I thought _I_ loved museums' I thought, chuckling to myself.

I was standing on my tippy toes to reach up high enough to see in the window, and just as I had lowered myself back to level ground I heard a voice.

"Why hello again White."

I slightly jumped and looked to my right to see N casually leaning against the brick wall of the museum, both hands in his pockets.

"How long have you been standing there"? I asked, and saw the familiar face of Zorua perched on N's shoulder.

"Oh, not too long" he smiled.

I looked around to make sure no one was watching us.

He looked to his left, following my gaze.

"What are we looking at"? He asked in complete confusion.

I quickly turned back to him "Nothing", I crossed my arms behind my back.

"You did an amazing job battling Lenora today" he noted.

"You were watching me?" I said in an abnormally high voice, not sure whether to thank him for his compliment or to be creeped out that he was watching.

N nodded. "You have natural talent" he said, with a smile threatening to take over his face.

"Thanks" I said, with the usual redness coloring my cheeks. I had no idea why I always blushed when he was around, I didn't do that with anyone else.

I noticed N had his arms crossed behind his back as well now, and he slowly unfolded them to reveal a small white flower in his left hand. He held it out to me.

"To congratulate you" he said gesturing for me to take it.

I slowly took it from his hand. It was very tiny, but extremely beautiful, with hints of blue towards its center.

"Thank you N" I said looking up and smiling at him.

Now it was his turn to blush and he turned his head to the side, trying to hide it.

I giggled, and he smiled at the sound of my laugh.

"Take a walk with me" he said and shoved off the wall to start swiftly and gracefully moving away.

I had to power walk to keep up with his large strides. He looked down and the flower that I was still holding.

"Sorry it's so small, it's all I could find." He admitted, looking almost ashamed of himself.

"Oh, I think it's pretty" I complimented and looked back down at the flower.

He grinned, content with my answer.

"Where are we going" I finally asked with a hint of concern after we had been walking in silence for almost ten minutes.

"Just wait" he said, his hands started to twitch, and I could tell he was excited.

Finally N started to slow down, then stopped in front of a large mass of bushes.

I looked up at him, waiting for him to say something but he didn't. I looked at the bushes, then back to him. Still nothing.

"So is this where you wanted to take me"? I asked. It would be very anticlimactic if so.

He let out one loud laugh. "Sort of". He reached out in front of us and made a small path in the large mass of brush, and nodded for me to go through. As I walked through and my foot hit grass on the other side I realized why he wanted to bring me here.

It was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. It was beyond gorgeous. There was a small pond about fifty feet away, it glistened, with the evening sky providing an ideal mystical background and the crescent moon accenting it perfectly. There were water Pokémon silently swimming in the lake, along with a few Ducklett sitting on the surface, and a few Wingull flying up above. Around the edge of the lake was the greenest grass I had ever seen, along with large boulders big enough to have a picnic on.

I gawked, my mouth slightly open. After a while I turned to my right to see N looking down at me beaming, obviously happy that I liked it.

"N, it's beautiful, how did you know this was here"?

He looked out at the pond. "Well, sometimes my…" he paused and I glanced up at him. "My… father would take me here, and he would let me play with the Pokémon. I always thought it was very pretty, and I figured you would like it". The end of his sentence got progressively quieter.

I walked over to one of the big boulders and attempted to climb on top of it. I didn't realize how windy it was until I tried to do this but after a couple of seconds I managed to successfully sit on top of it.

I sat criss cross and looked at the moon. I was lost in my own thoughts until I heard N begin to talk. He was standing in front of the boulder and had to tilt his head up to look at me. His expression was almost blank except for a sparkle in his eyes.

"White, may I just say that you look beautiful tonight".

My eyes widened at the sudden statement, probably the last thing I expected him to say. I then realized exactly how I was sitting. The light of the moon reflected right onto me, making my skin glow, and the wind was blowing in my face, creating my hair to flow around me, and from N's point of view, I probably didn't look too bad.

I had never had anyone call me beautiful before, and it caught me off guard. What did he mean when he said that, did he mean it like when my mom said I looked beautiful: simply giving a compliment, or did he mean it in a romantic way?

He soon answered my question without me asking.

He easily climbed up on the rock with a few steps and within seconds was sitting next to me. He turned my face to look at him with his fingertips. He was shaking nervously and seemed hesitant in speaking at all.

"White", he paused, starting to shake even more, and I swore I could hear his heartbeat. "I- I really like you".

Normally I would have been completely caught up in what he said, with a blush to match, but the way he worded his confession made me laugh instead.

It sounded like a little kid, saying 'I like you' I half expected him to say that he 'like-liked' me to show that he meant in a romantic way, not like a friend.

He pulled away, confused by my small laughing fit. I clapped a hand over my mouth, now aware that I had offended him.

"Wh-What's so funny" he questioned, a hurt expression in his eyes.

"No, nothing" I said putting a hand on his chest, trying to comfort him.

"So" he began, now looking at the ground, "you don't like me, do you". He slowly assumed, his green hair now partially covering his face.

This time I didn't laugh, because his words made me think.

I truly didn't know if I 'like-liked' N, to use the 'formal' term. I knew I had some sort of feelings for him, I just hadn't put them into words, or into order yet. I didn't want to like N romantically, but with every word he said I could feel myself falling, but I was still hanging on for dear life, and that was how it was going to stay, in my mind anyway.

"Well" I started, carefully choosing my words, "I do like you". His head snapped up and he looked at me with hope.

"You do"? He said with a smile.

"But not romantically" I paused. "Just, like a friend".

His expression went back to neutral, not sad or happy.

"Do you think you will ever feel that way"?

Again I was thrown off, and decided to answer truthfully.

"I have no idea N". I said chuckling slightly.

Happy won on the war for N's expression. He was elated at the fact that there was still a chance that I would return his feelings, and by the look he was giving me, I knew he wouldn't stop until I did.

"Good." N replied, removing his hand from my face.

Zorua had disappeared a long time ago, but returned to jump back up on N's shoulder, just as our conversation had come near to a close.

That night when he walked me back to the Pokémon center it was almost complete silence. When we neared my room he turned me around to face him.

"Goodnight White" he said, his silky tone once again taking over; and my mind again got blissfully lost in it.

He leaned down, and placed a small peck on my cheek. Then standing up straight, he smiled and slowly walked away.

That night, I couldn't sleep. Too many thoughts were running through my head. Mostly just replaying the night, and trying to figure out what was going to happen from there. I couldn't deny that I liked N's company, and I had finally given in to wanting him as a friend a few days ago. We had only talked a few times, but I felt like every time I saw him, I was seeing an old friend; someone that I deeply cared about, and would always feel comfortable around. A feeling that I knew was very rare.

I suddenly felt bad for not seeing him the night he came to visit me. I suddenly felt bad for laughing at what he said. I felt bad for a lot, wished I had changed a lot, and wished I could tell him all that. And that's when I realized what all those were emotions of: Love.

It looked like the day when I returned those feelings wasn't too far away after all. And that's what worried me the most.


	8. Attention is Key

**So here goes chapter 8, I actually like this one. Aaaaand that's all, I think. **

**Enjoy! :)**

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_**Chapter 8: Attention is Key**_

The next morning when I woke up I was slapped in the face with the memory of what had happened last night; but I decided to do everything in my power to keep it off my mind. Plus I had some serious training to do. I didn't like how close the match was with Lenora, if Talace hadn't evolved, I probably would have lost.

'Oh crap' I thought, at the mention of my Pokémon, I had forgotten to let them out last night. I quickly ran over to my bag and fished out their balls.

Once I had let them out, it again surprised me to see Talace as a Pignite and not a Tepig, but I adjusted quickly. I apologized and they forgave me right away.

I had decided to stay in Nacrene City for a while. You know, to train, not because I knew N was still here, no that couldn't be it.

I walked out to the forest and staked out an ideal place for training. Talace was now even stronger, and he was very proud because of it. I had always heard that Pokémon's personalities changed when they evolved, but the only difference in Talace was his confidence, it was off the charts.

I decided to focus on Pidove and Blitzle today. I brought them both out. I had carefully come up with some exercises that would help with their moves, and of course I was planning on battling wild Pokémon too.

I loved Pidove's air cutter move, and used the many branches as target practice. I worked on Blitzle's thunder wave on wild Pokémon, and was elated to find out that he could learn Flame Charge too. As you know, I am quite partial to fire type moves. I had been training for almost two hours when I heard footsteps. I turned around, expecting to see a trainer, which I was looking forward to trying to battle against with new Pokémon. But instead I saw a flash of green, and I knew what that meant.

Pretty soon N had walked all the way out of the trees and was looking at my three Pokémon who were standing at the ready.

"Training are we?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

My heart skipped a beat seeing N again. I shook my head to clear it.

"Yes, I am training… why are you here?" I asked, obviously confused.

"I heard your voice, and figured it would be fun to watch you train" he said with a slight smile and a gleam in his eyes.

He walked over next to my bag, and sat down, leaning against a tree.

It was awkward having N there, I didn't know whether I should keep training or not.

"Go ahead, just pretend I'm not here" he said smiling, and looked back to my Pokémon.

Yeah, easier said than done.

After a couple of awkward minutes with glances over my shoulder, I started feeling more comfortable with N there. The smile never left his face the whole time, and he was very quiet, so after a while I almost _did_ forget he was there.

After a bit of training I heard snorts.

I turned around to see Talace standing in front of N, talking away, and N quietly listening. Talace looked worried, and moved his arms around with great emotion while he was speaking with N, or as close to speaking as a Pokémon can come.

Talace paused and waited for N to answer.

N smiled, "Don't worry, if she asks me to leave I will".

What? He was talking to Talace? I remembered him saying he could talk to Pokémon but I figured he couldn't be serious. I just stared, mesmerized by the exchange.

Talace again said something.

N nodded, "Yes, I do".

Talace put his arms down and said one last thing.

N chuckled. "Maybe sometime in the future, but right now I think White wants you to be training." N said looking to me and my wide eyed expression.

Talace huffed and walked back over to Pidove and Blitzle, seemingly happy with whatever answers he had gotten from N.

I marched over to N and plopped down beside him.

"What was that" I asked in a tone between amazement and confusion, but it came out sounding like I was irritated.

"Oh, I'm sorry, should I not have talked to him" he asked, his eyes wide, looking like a little kid that had just gotten in trouble.

"No, that was fine, but why didn't you tell me you can talk to Pokémon" I said, gradually getting louder as my sentence went on.

"I did" N said, still looking a little frightened.

"Yes, but I thought you were kidding!" I exclaimed.

N chuckled and went back to his usual calm and collected self.

"No, I wasn't kidding, White, I can talk to Pokémon." He looked out of the corner of his eye to assess my reaction.

I didn't know what to say.

"How"? Was the only word that I seemed to be able to speak.

"Well it just came naturally to me" he said, "ever since I was small I have talked to Pokémon, to me, they are my _real_ friends and family; and I have been hoping that someone else shares my gift of understanding them, that is why I asked if you could talk to Pokémon when I first met you." He said looking up, a sadness now covering his face.

I looked over to Talace who was happily shooting small balls of flame out his nose, and Blitzle was trying to imitate him, succeeding to some degree.

"So what were you and Talace talking about"? I questioned.

N smiled. "That little Pokémon is sure protective of you" he said looking over to Talace.

I stared at him, waiting for him to answer my question properly. He finally gave in.

"Well, he wanted to know why I was here, and if you wanted me here. Then he asked if I had Pokémon, and If so if we could have a battle." N said glancing at me.

Wow, Talace was trying to get a battle by himself. He sure did love them.

I wasn't sure what to say next, all I knew was that I was just in awe of the fact that N could talk to Pokémon.

"Wow" was the only thing I could manage to get out.

N realized that I was amazed at what he could do, and he liked the attention.

"I can talk to your other Pokémon if you like" he said putting his hand on top of mine, "You can ask them anything you want". His eyes were reassuring, and I accepted.

For the next couple of hours I talked to Talace, Pidove, Blitzle, Purloin, Pansage, and Patrat, through translation of course. It was amazing, and it looked like N was having as much fun as I was. Every time I smiled or laughed at what one of my Pokémon said, his eyes sparkled.

After a while, both my Pokémon and I were worn out, and it was almost night time. I returned them and N once again walked me back to the Pokémon center, where I had rented a room for the entire week. He told me how wonderful it was to see me as happy as I was today, and once again gave me a small peck on the cheek. After which both N and my cheeks were beet red.

* * *

As I brushed my hair after a hot shower I watched my Pokémon frolic around, and now, since I had talked to them, saw them in a different light, an amazing light.

I left my hair down and went in search of a blanket. It was now pitch black and getting very cold. Nights in Unova were known for how cold they were. I snuggled up in my blanket on the ground and once again opened the book with Pokémon information in it. Talace sat down next to me. It was hard to get used to him being bigger, but it made him very happy to have evolved, so I was happy too.

After just a few minutes I heard a banging on my window. I jumped a mile. I had seemed to have gotten more jumpy since starting out on my journey, but I guess that was just because people kept scaring me. I stood up to see the face of N, peeking inside, his arms wrapped around himself. I leapt up and walked over to the window to open it. A strong gust of freezing cold air flew inside and I shivered.

"Holy cow it's cold, N what are you doing out there?"

"Well" he said between shivers of his own "Last time I came to find you, the front door technique didn't work so well, so I decided to try an…" he paused and shivered again "unconventional method".

I rolled my eyes, "Get in here, or you'll freeze".

He easily climbed in the window and I shut it behind him. He walked over and sat on the end of the bed, now seemingly not cold at all and lazily looked over to an irritated me.

"Thanks" he said flashing an irresistible smile and suddenly I wasn't mad at him anymore. I sighed at my own weakness and sat back on the floor with Talace.

"What are you doing here?" I asked looking up at him.

"I am visiting you in the Pokémon center" he said, scooting back to the back of the bed and leaning against the headboard.

"Well I know that" I said, again sounding irritated, "But _why_ are you seeing me in the Pokémon center".

His cheeks turned a bright red and I could tell he didn't want to confess, but he did.

"I don't know" he said slowly, like someone was forcing him to talk, "I had a great time with you today" he paused "and I didn't want it to stop". He looked down at his hands and started playing with Talace's pokeball that I had left on the bed.

I chuckled and looked down at the book. N was not happy with the lack of attention and tried to start up a conversation.

"Nice place you have here".

I looked at him with an expression that said 'are you kidding me'?

"It's not mine; this _is_ a Pokémon center if you'll remember". I said starting to laugh.

He smiled and laughed with me.

He took off his hat and put it on the bed next to him. I realized that I liked him much better without it, but I kept my mouth shut and looked down at the book again.

N grunted in frustration and again tried to start a conversation.

"Why are you sitting on the floor"?

I looked at him with a confused expression.

"Um, I guess I just wanted a change of pace" I said shrugging my shoulders and looking back to my book. I thought it was funny when N got frustrated because I was paying more attention to a paperback book on Pokémon than him, so I kept answering his questions with one liners, not contributing to the conversation. Before N could react I realized almost all my Pokémon had or were falling asleep.

I stood up and took out some blankets and laid one over each. Including a snoozing Talace who was still sitting on the floor.

When I was done I walked back over to my book but N stopped me by grabbing my wrist.

"You look pretty White" he said looking up at me with gleaming eyes.

I put my hands on my hips. I was wearing my white tank top and fuzzy pajama pants, his conversation starters were really starting to run out. He realized that I was skeptical and chuckled. Suddenly he grabbed me by the waist and pulled me onto the bed with him, so I was sitting in his arms.

I wanted to feel uncomfortable, but somehow I didn't.

"I know you have been thinking about how I said I feel about you" N said in his silky smooth voice, slowly drifting me off into another land. "Do you wish to change your answer"? He asked, trying to look calm, but hopefulness shining through.

I grabbed a pillow that was sitting next to me and started playing with the tassels on it, needing to keep my hands busy because I was put on the spot, and suddenly very nervous.

I _had_ been thinking about it, and I realized I returned what he felt for me, but I was still afraid to say it.

N laughed. I put on hand on his chest so I could look up at him. His heart was pounding even though he had a calm exterior; it felt like it might jump out of his chest.

"What's so funny" I asked, confused once again by his actions.

"You're worried about saying it aren't you?" he asked.

I blushed, looking back down at the pillow; he could read me like a book.

"Don't worry sweetheart, as long as you feel it, that's what matters". He pulled me in close and put his chin on top of my head.

'Sweetheart' I thought in a daze, 'that's new'. I didn't want to feel things for N, as I had told myself over and over again but in that moment my reserve cracked and I gave into it. I wrapped my arms around him and snuggled my head on his chest. He sighed in relief, and I could feel that he was smiling. He had won, and he knew it.

He began slowly stroking my now dry hair.

After a few minutes in that position we talked, and talked, and talked, until finally I fell asleep. Before my eyes closed I felt him pull up a blanket on top of me, just like I had my Pokémon.

"Goodnight White" he said, and softly kissed me on the cheek.

The last thing I saw that night was him climbing out the window, then I fell into a deep sleep, something I hadn't had since I met N, and might I say, had wonderful dreams too.


	9. Moving On

**So here is Chapter 9, I have written a few chapters ahead now and Brock officially makes his appearence in Chapter 12. Yes a little later than I expected too, but hey, that's just the way the cookie, or story, crumbles. **

**I apologize for the lame joke. I hope I will be posting Chapter 10 today too, but I'm not sure.**

**Thanks for the feedback. Enjoy! :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 9: Moving On**_

The next week was one of the best weeks of my life. I trained Pokémon, and N was around almost constantly. And every night, like clockwork he would climb in the Pokémon center window, and we would talk, and I would sit in his arms. During the time we had together we got very close, and we both felt very comfortable around each other.

Pokémon wise, Pidove had evolved into a Tranquill. He was also now taller just like Talace, and big enough to carry me whenever I got ahold of the HM fly.

I was hesitant to move on because of the good times I was having, but I knew I would eventually have to go, and the longer I stayed the harder it was going to be. N was sad at first, but I knew he would end up tagging along.

I packed everything up, and grabbed the room key to return to Nurse Joy. I looked in the mirror to check my hair, something I didn't tend to do prior to meeting N, but now I did it constantly. N seemed to love my hair, he was always playing with it, so I tended to take better care of it now.

I walked outside; my bag slung over my shoulder and breathed in the fresh air. I did have to admit I was excited to be traveling in Pinwheel forest though, it was a fascinating place. I walked over to the western edge of town and noticed a large patch of trees. My curiosity getting the best of me, I headed in, hoping to find some Pokémon. Sure enough I did and by the time I hit the other side of the bunch of trees I had caught a Tympole, a Timburr, a Throh, and a Sawk. Not to mention last week when N and I went on a small trip to a cave, I had caught a Roggenrola, and a Woobat. I was on a roll when it came to capturing Pokémon, and I hoped it continued.

I walked for what seemed like forever before I finally approached the entrance to Pinwheel forest. It was a beautiful place, with large green trees, and the occasional Pokémon ranger, most of which were happy to battle me and gave me interesting things afterwards. But I had to admit the reason I was most excited was that it was said that some Pansear live in Pinwheel forest. After a couple hours of walking I had caught a Petlil, a Panpour, a Sewaddle, and a Venipede but I still hadn't seen one Pansear. Finally after about another hour I heard a rustle. I looked to see a small red Pokémon pop out of the grass.

"Yes" I exclaimed dancing around. "A Pansear"!

The small red monkey looked at me as if I were nuts.

"Aright, Blitzle, let's go."

Talace was getting tired of not getting all the attention, and every time I called out a different Pokémon his pokeball wiggled a bit, no doubt him pouting, and silently saying he wasn't happy with me.

After a few thunder waves from Blitzle the tiny monkey was staggering around.

"Pokeball go!" I yelled and threw it so it hit the Pansear.

After the dot had gone white I danced around a bit, only to have the ball routinely disappear, going to Professor Juniper's lab.

I made a note to transfer back Pansear, Tympole, and Venipede. As they were the Pokémon I was most excited to train.

And that was when the moment occurred. Just like Talace and Pidove before him, Blitzle flashed a bright white. I stared in awe, my mouth slightly open and after just a few seconds, there before me stood a large creature.

Blitzle was now a Zebstrika. He was very tall, and I had to slightly tilt my head up to look at him. And his voice had gotten LOUD. He whinnied and a couple of Pidove flew out of the neighboring trees.

"Great Job Zebstrika"! I exclaimed and ran over to wrap my arms around the big electric zebra.

After I had gotten over the initial shock, and checked my pokedex about his stats and moves, I returned Zebstrika to his ball.

I knew Pinwheel forest wasn't known for housing any other types of Pokémon so I relaxed a little as I walked. When the sky turned dark I knew I was about ¾ of the way through, and couldn't make it all the way to Castelia City tonight, so I decided to set up camp. Per Cheren's advice when I left Nuvema town I had purchased a tent. So setting it up I brought out my Pokémon, and Talace once again created a fire.

I ate a hot dog, while my Pokémon chowed down on their usual Pokémon food. That was when I realized it was getting awfully cold. I knew it would be warmer in the tent so I finished my food, returned my Pokémon, and stomped out the fire. Just as I was about to unzip my tent I heard a rustling. I looked, waiting to see a Pokémon but saw N instead. He looked out of breath.

"Are you okay" I asked as he put his hands on his knees.

"Yeah" he panted.

"Have you been following me this whole time?" I asked, a little creeped out.

He laughed. "No, I was going to come with you today, but I had some…" he paused "stuff…. to take care of". He took in a big breath. "And I have been running, trying to catch up to you".

I laughed and he straightened up, now having caught his breath. He then shivered and I realized I was shivering too.

I crawled in the tent and he followed. That night was one of the coldest nights of my life, even with two people's body heat, it was still freezing.

* * *

In the morning I woke up to an odd smell coming from outside. I realized N was no longer there, and neither was my bag. I unzipped the tent and looked out. N was standing over a small fire, cooking burgers, no doubt the ones I had in my bag. I saw Zorua out of the corner of my eye carrying a mouthful of sticks, and he threw them onto the fire to keep it going. N petted Zorua's head and looked back to what he was cooking.

"That smells delicious" I said rubbing my eyes. N looked up and smiled at me.

"How did you sleep?"

"Pretty good" I answered, sitting down on a log. "But it was freezing" I said shivering just at the memory.

N looked concerned, "Are you still cold"?

"No, I'm just fine now". N looked relieved, then turned back to the burgers and smiled.

"They're done!"

They were some of the best burgers I had ever had. It completely surprised me as I didn't see N as someone who could cook.

"They are delicious" I exclaimed taking another huge bite.

N looked very proud and pinched off a piece for Zorua.

Within minutes I was done, and my stomach was very pleased. I leaned over and kissed N on the cheek.

"Thank you". I said happily.

This threw us both off, as I was never the one who initiated anything romantic with N; PDA's if you will.

He looked thrilled and pulled me in close.

"Anything for you, love". He replied.

I had gotten a little worried that N was farther along emotionally with our relationship than I was, but I decided to put that thought out of my mind.

Speaking of our relationship, what I had with N was neat, we hadn't labeled it, and neither of us wanted to, we both knew how we felt about it, and luckily we felt the same.

We cleaned up after eating, and I packed to head on.

"If it is okay with you, I would like to accompany you to Castelia City". N said, sounding almost like a chauffeur, minus the fancy car.

I nodded and we were on our way. I had miscalculated how far I was in Pinwheel forest, in reality I was only half way through it. But because of not stopping to catch Pokémon, and starting out earlier in the morning, N and I had reached the end by 3:00.

We passed through another terminal and upon exiting found ourselves on a small outing over a huge lake. I ran to the edge and leaned over to look at the sparkling water. N walked up beside me.

"Beautiful isn't it" he said, glancing at me.

"No kidding" I exclaimed, a huge smile on my face, that of which faded when I saw the gigantic bridge.

"Do we have to walk across that to get to Castelia City?" I said, suddenly overwhelmed by the upcoming task. It was the biggest bridge I had ever seen, standing on my tiptoes I still couldn't see the other side.

"Yup" N said, sounding happy, "Skyarrow Bridge, the biggest bridge you'll find almost anywhere".

I looked up at him, not amused.

He chuckled, "Don't worry, it's not as long as it looks."

We had been walking for about a half an hour when we hit the halfway point. I leaned over the side looking at the water again.

"This has to be the longest bridge in the world". I said resting my chin on the edge.

"Hey, I'm having fun" N smiled and put his hands behind his head.

Of course N was having fun, if he could be talking to me, asking me questions; I think he would be happy sitting in a hailstorm.

"Come on" he said, grabbing hold of my hand, "It'll be fun". He grinned.

When he was having fun, the smile he gave was infectious, and after about ten minutes of walking, I found I felt about as happy as he did.

I was so relieved when we reached the end that I hugged a light post. I didn't admit it, but I was a little afraid of bridges, they could collapse any moment and then I would drown, even though I knew how to swim; this had always been my view.

When I let go of the post to move on I saw N give it a suspicious look and kick it lightly.

'Really, he was jealous of a light post'? I snickered but didn't say anything.

After walking through another terminal we hit Castelia City, and boy was it not what I expected. All the other cities in Unova were quaint, and small, but this was not the case with Castelia. There were huge skyscrapers, even the Pokémon center was built into one. I slowly walked out, tilting my head up, trying to see the top, and I couldn't.

"Wow" I managed to say, not sure if I was excited or just surprised.

"Man I forgot how big these buildings are" I heard N mumble also looking up at them.

"So you have been here before?" I asked.

"Yup" replied N, then a large grin was plastered on his face, "Hey, I know where we can go" he said taking ahold of my hand and dragging me towards the buildings.

"What? Where?" I said, wanting to know where he was taking me.

"Casteliacone" was the only word he said. After about ten minutes we approached a large crowd, they were all huddled around a stand. N turned back to me.

"Do you like ice cream" He asked.

"Yeah" I said skeptically, not sure what we were doing here.

"What flavor"? He asked, digging in his pocket.

"Chocolate" I said, sounding more like a question.

He nodded, "Stay here". He turned and disappeared into the crowd. A couple of minutes later he returned with two ice cream cones in his hand, one chocolate, and one vanilla.

"Here" he said happily, holding mine out to me. I took a small bite.

"Oh my gosh this stuff is amazing" I said widening my eyes and looking closely at the cone.

"Yup" N said, "Best stuff you will find absolutely anywhere" he took a bite of his own.

"Alright people, we're closed for the day, we are all out" I heard a gruff voice say, and the people crowding around the stand made sounds of disapproval before they dispersed.

"Wow, I guess we got here just in time" N remarked watching people as they hastily passed us, upset they didn't get their ice cream.

"Let's walk" N said grabbing hold of my hand. We walked all around Castelia city, he showed me where different things were, the gym, a huge fountain, the docks, and finally we ended at the Pokémon center. It was pitch black and I knew I needed to get some sleep if I was going to have a gym battle tomorrow. He bid me farewell with a kiss on the hand and walked back towards the huge fountain.

I rented a room and left my Pokémon with Nurse Joy. After a while she called my room to tell me they were just fine and I could pick them up anytime. I trudged down the hallway, picked them up and walked back to my room. When I entered I saw a familiar green haired figure sitting in the chair in the corner.

"How did you get through the window?" I said, baffled.

N looked worried. "They don't lock those things; that seems kind of dangerous".

"Yeah, it's like they _want_ people to come barging in". I said giving him an accusatory look.

He chuckled.

We had our usual night, we talked, and I was the first to drift off, but this time I fell asleep in his arms, not just on the bed, and I knew when I woke up in the morning he would still be there.


	10. Promising Trainer

**So here is Chapter 10, I kinda like this chapter. The next one is when all heck breaks lose, and I am having troubles with the wording so I'm not sure when I will put it up, hopefully tomorrow though.**

**So yeah, Enjoy! :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 10: Promising Trainer**_

The next morning I was startled awake by a loud "WHAAAAAAT?"

I jumped and sat up in the bed blinking my eyes, trying to focus them.

"I told you _not_ to wake her up" I heard N's smooth voice say, "not to scream like a maniac and scare us all". I heard a smile in his voice.

I looked up to see N sitting again in the chair in the corner and a shocked Cheren standing in the doorway.

N looked over to me, "How did you sleep sweetheart?" he said giving a gentle smile.

Another loud "WHAAAAT" from Cheren and I could tell N was now getting irritated.

"Why do you insist on yelling so early in the morning" N said with a bit of annoyance in his voice.

"White, we need to talk" Cheren said while running over and dragged me out of bed; he pulled me down the hall until we were out of earshot.

"What have I missed, and are you out of your mind?"

I was still tired and it took a while for his questions to sink in.

"Calm down Cheren" I said, yawning. "What's got you so uptight?"

"N is in your room" he said, whispering and looking around like I didn't know this fact before.

"I know" I replied.

"You do?" Cheren's voice was getting loud and I shushed him.

"Please catch me up" he said with sad eyes.

"Well, N and I have gotten rather close lately" I said, not really sure what Cheren wanted me to say.

"So you are okay with him watching you sleep, like a total freak?" Cheren asked, trying to make the situation sound bad.

"Um, yeah I guess" I said, again my statement sounded more like a question.

I could tell that me being with N really bothered Cheren, but I didn't know why. He sighed.

"So why are you here in the first place?" I asked.

"Oh yeah" he said snapping his fingers. "Bianca is having a Pokémon crisis and needs you to help".

I rolled my eyes, everything was a crisis to Bianca, but I complied and got dressed to go help her.

N said he had to go take care of some stuff again and left, but not without a kiss on the forehead, which visibly bothered Cheren.

He then dragged me down to one of the docks and pointed over to a crying Bianca.

I rushed over, "What's wrong?"

She looked up and flung her arms around me.

"Oh White, it's awful, they took my Munna" she said between sobs.

I looked over to Cheren, "Who is they?"

"Team Plasma" he answered.

I growled, I was really starting to not like these people, it's fine if they preach what they believe, but the minute they start taking people's Pokémon, that was a major line that was crossed, by my standards anyway.

"We will go get it back" I promised and Bianca looked a little happier.

"Thanks White" she said, sniffling.

Cheren and I headed off and finally found the grunts who had taken Bianca's Munna. I was surprised to see a familiar figure standing, ready to battle them.

"Burgh?" I questioned. He turned around at the sound of his name and smiled at me.

After a few battles, and repeated defeats of Team Plasma's Pokémon we had gotten Bianca's Munna back. She was so happy to see it she started crying all over again, and apologized profusely for not being able to protect it.

"We should go teach those grunts a lesson" growled Cheren, and both Burgh and I agreed.

After a while of walking we saw two of them standing guard at the entrance to a building. After battling against them, and they again fell in defeat, we were reluctantly let in.

It was a large building but we entered into a small room, and sitting at a desk, the only piece of furniture in the room, was Ghetsis. He looked up and smirked.

"I figured you would find me eventually" he remarked standing up and walking over to stand and face Burgh and I. "So you are Burgh, the gym leader here" he said in his gravelly voice, he then turned to me, and his expression lightened a bit, "And you must be White".

"H-How do you know my name?" I asked, astonished.

Ghetsis paused, "Uh, I try to familiarize myself with all the promising trainers" he said, a little bit awkwardly. He leaned over and looked closely at me, "Hmph" he grunted and stood back up.

By now I could tell Cheren was very angry.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his hands shaking with anger.

Ghetsis brushed off Cheren's question and turned back to Burgh.

"I figured you would find out about our little hideout sooner or later" he leaned against the desk, "But it has become very important to me, so I don't plan on just abandoning it".

There was a silence, and no one was sure what to say.

"Are you familiar with the legend of Unova's formation?" he asked, looking back to me.

I heard a voice from behind me, "Yeah, I know that! The one with the white dragon Pokémon right?"

I turned around to see a girl with purple hair. I looked at Cheren questioningly.

"This is Iris, she has been traveling with Bianca, they have become good friends" he explained.

Iris turned and gave me a wink and a wave.

"That's right" Ghetsis answered. "When all the countries in the world were arguing, it was wondered if there was really a way to fix it. Well, there was a hero who pondered that question, and a white dragon who turned it's fangs on those who defied it. The hero and his white dragon used their power to bring order to the hearts of all by creating Unova".

We all were quiet again, waiting for Ghetsis to go on.

"And just like in that time, once again a hero shall rise and the white dragon will help in capturing people's hearts".

"So your solution is to steal Pokémon until the hero arises" I half yelled.

"Oh, you will see it my way eventually White" he said with a grin.

"Until then, we Seven Sages will go by our king's demands, and work towards a world where Pokémon are free beings." He said, and started walking towards the door, glancing at me in the process.

Soon both him and his guards were gone and we were left alone in the room. Burgh, Iris, Cheren, and I walked out, not to see any sight of them.

We all dispersed, all with thoughts of malice towards Team Plasma, and their twisted values.

Cheren and Iris went off to find Bianca, and Burgh turned to me.

"So I expect to see you at my gym today". He smiled.

My thoughts were brought back onto training and I gave him a sly smile.

"Oh you bet". He walked off and I walked back towards the Pokémon center. After my Pokémon were given another checkup I then started heading for Burgh's gym.

* * *

I stepped inside the gym to see it was dimly lit, but after a while I could see properly.

"Hey" I heard a voice say. It was the man that I saw almost every time I entered a gym. He handed me a bottle of water and told me that Burgh was straight that way; the only problem was that he pointed at a wall. Noticing my doubting look he laughed.

"Yes you can actually get through that, it is simply honey, and as you know this is a bug type gym."

I walked up to the wall and stuck my hand in it. Sure enough it was honey, but when I pulled my hand back out, it was perfectly clean, nothing stuck to it.

"Hm" I mumbled and shoved my way into the first wall. It took a lot of struggling but finally I made it through. There was a whole maze of these walls and after a ridiculous amount of time wiggling to get through them, I had finally made it. I went through a door and saw Burgh standing at the other side of a battle field, waiting for me.

"Well it took you long enough" he said laughing.

I glared at him.

"After seeing you battle earlier my bug Pokémon were clamoring to have a fight with you." He then proceeded to send out his first Pokémon, a Whirlipede, the evolved form of Venipede.

"Alright Talace" I called and sent him out. I had a feeling this would be a breeze since fire was strong against bug types.

"Talace Flame Charge" I called and like I had expected, the Whirlipede was out with one hit.

Burgh looked discouraged, and called back his Pokémon, only to send out a Dwebble.

"Smack down Dwebble" Burgh called and the small bug Pokémon ran at Talace.

"Dodge and use Flame Charge" I called. Talace easily dodged and the searing flames hit the Dwebble in a direct hit, but the small thing stayed standing up.

"What?" I whispered in confusion, and looked at Burgh who was smiling.

"I've got some tricks up my sleeve" he said turning back to Dwebble.

"Let's try faint attack Dwebble". It flew at Talace with amazing speed and hit right on the spot.

Just then I remembered Dwebble was a rock type, so that would cancel out the weakness to fire. But rock types were weak against Fighting.

Talace was cringing from the impact and the Dwebble had just hit the ground when I called out "Arm Thrust". Talace smirked and he knew this would be it. After one hit, the small Dwebble was a goner, and there was a small dent in the floor as proof.

Burgh looked unhappy, and took out his last Pokémon. "Leavanny, you are my last hope" he called and a tall slender bug Pokémon emerged.

"Talace Flame charge" I again bellowed.

"Dodge and use string shot" the Leavanny started to move but didn't get out of the way fast enough, and it was also a one hit knock-out.

He walked over to me after he returned his Pokémon and gave a slight smile.

"I knew you would be tough, but man that was brutal, you definitely deserve this badge, it will be proof of your win here at the Castelia City gym". He held out a small badge shaped like a wing, and once again I couldn't stop smiling.

By the time all the excitement was over with Team Plasma, and getting a Gym Badge, it was late, I decided to head back to the Pokémon center for an early night, in hopes that I could get an early start and make it to Nimbasa City tomorrow morning.

I ate dinner at the Pokémon center's cafeteria and then headed back to my room. I was exhausted from such a wearing day, and so were my Pokémon, they had almost immediately fallen asleep when I called them out. I had transferred some to and from Juniper's and so now I had, Talace, Tranquill, Zebstrika, Pansear, Venipede, and Tympole. Zebstrika didn't comfortably fit in the room so I had to return it, and Tympole wasn't too happy being out of water so I returned it too, so tonight I only had four Pokémon out, the other two were happily sleeping in their pokeballs.

I was just about to climb in bed when I heard the familiar tapping on the window. I let N in and he closed the window behind him.

"I guess you decided to lock it then" N said, smiling at me.

I nodded, "After you said that, I was a little jittery thinking just anyone could come inside" I admitted.

He sat down on the bed and chuckled, pulling me once again into his arms.

"So, how was your day, darling" he asked.

"Well a lot happened" I admitted.

"Tell me about it" he said, looking interested. I thought after a while N would get tired of listening to my stories, but he never seemed to.

"Well," I started, "I got my third badge".

A big smile broke out on his face, "Good, congratulations, I knew you would win".

I smiled, blushing a bit.

"So why did Bianca need your help this morning" he asked sounding kind of concerned.

"Oh" I said, my ill feelings returning, "Team Plasma stole it" I said with hints of anger in my voice. N winced and I looked up at his face to see he looked somewhere between scared and angry.

"They shouldn't have done that" he said, staring off into space. He looked back down at me, "I'm sorry White, I hope you got it back".

"Yeah we did," I paused, "And you don't need to apologize, it's not your fault". He again winced and I looked up at him.

"What's wrong?" I asked, wondering why he was so twitchy.

"Oh, nothing" he said, his normal look returning and his gaze turned back to me.

"Anything else exciting happen?" He pulled me close to him and started stroking my hair.

"No, I don't think so," I said, nuzzling into his chest. Whenever he petted my hair it made me sleepy and I thought if I could fall asleep before he had time to lay me down and put a blanket on me, maybe he would spend the night again.

But he sensed that I was tired and tucked me in. He again routinely kissed my cheek and told me goodnight, and then climbed out the window.

I was starting to get used to falling asleep like that, and I liked it.


	11. I Knew the King

**So alot happens in this chapter; and you can see by the end how we are going to meet Brock in the next one. Im not sure if I like all the wording in this chapter, but hopefully it is okay.**

**Anywho, Enjoy! :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 11: I Knew the King**_

The next morning I woke up refreshed, but a little sad N hadn't spent the night. I got a nice and early start and happily walked to the terminal that would lead me through to route 4. I looked up at the scrolling sign, it said perfect weather everywhere. I marched to the end, and as the doors opened I got a surprise.

"Oh, Holy Rollers" I said covering my face with my hands, there was a full blown sand storm happening out here.

"I thought it said it was sunny" I said to no one in particular.

I heard a laugh, "It _is_ sunny".

I looked over to see a man in a vest walking towards me. "There is a constant sand storm here".

"Well that would explain it, I guess" I said.

He chuckled again, "Don't worry, route 4 is short, and the end is just up ahead.

I nodded and thanked him for his help.

After a while I got used to the sand, and I could walk normally, not covering my face like a paranoid idiot. Much to my surprise this desert held a lot of Pokémon. By the time I was to the end, I had caught a Scraggy, a Sandile, and a Darumaka, the latter of which I could barely contain my excitement over. When I reached the end I was ready to cross the terminal and enter Nimbasa City, when I saw a sign pointing to the left that said 'Desert Resort'. I didn't know what it was but I was curious so I went ahead and walked to the 'resort'.

It turned out to be just a big desert too, but fortunately there were some different Pokémon, I was able to catch a Maractus. The only other Pokémon I had heard of living here was Sigilyph, and after about an hour I finally saw one.

After 20 failed pokeballs, I finally caught the feisty thing. I loved Pokémon with overflowing personalities, and independent strength, so I made another note to transfer back Sigilyph at the next Pokémon center.

Route 4 wasn't too long compared to the others and I had reached the end by noon. I passed on through to Nimbasa City.

The city was beautiful, with neon signs, and bright lights, this place was always known for never having a dry minute.

I walked forward, looking to my right and left, not sure which way to go. I could go to the Pokémon center, or the battle subway, or the amusement park, or the musical theatre, or the ball parks. The list seemed to go on and on. But after a minute a voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

"Why hello beautiful" I felt arms wrap around my waist, and if it hadn't have been for the unique voice, and the strand of green hair that hung over my shoulder, I probably would have punched the unknown person.

"Hello N" I replied, a smile on my face. I turned around so I was facing him and he looked happier than ever.

"Will you do me a favor?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure" I said, a bit skeptical.

He chuckled, "Ride the Ferris wheel with me".

Well that had answered my question on what to do first, and we walked hand In hand to the amusement park.

After a short wait we were assigned our car, and we got inside. The door shut and we were hoisted about twenty feet in the air, so the next few cars could be filled.

"This thing is huge" I exclaimed looking out the window.

"Yup, the second biggest Ferris wheel in the world" he remarked.

It was a small car, and there were two benches across from each other but N had chosen to sit with me, on the same bench. Pretty soon the ride got going, and I pressed my hands against the glass, looking out across the city, and watching the people, who now looked like ants.

The Ferris wheel was amazing and all but I had to admit my favorite part was that the cars were shaped like pokeballs, and I just thought for some reason, that was the best thing ever.

After a minute of admiring the land, I felt N's hand on my back, and saw his face appear next to mine, also looking out the window.

"Beautiful isn't it?" he said, looking towards Castelia City. Even from this far away we could see the large sky scrapers.

I nodded and he pulled back. I turned around and expected him to have scooted back over to his side but he hadn't and our faces were mere inches apart.

My eyes widened and my breathing became sporadic, just like N's already was.

We sat like that for a minute before he leaned forward.

In a second I felt his lips on mine. His kiss was gentle, but full of passion. I still hadn't moved but I felt myself being sucked in and after a few seconds began to kiss N back. His body relaxed, obviously glad that I had in fact returned his affection.

He put his right hand around my face and continued, still staying gentle, but adding a little more force. I could tell he had been wanting to do this for a while now.

It was amazing, I was washed over with a warm fuzzy feeling, and I placed one hand on N's chest.

After a bit we broke apart for air. My eyes were wide and so were his, but a big goofy smile was on his face, and his breathing was very hard.

We were still close, and after a few breaths N whispered, "I love you White".

I froze, it had caught me way off guard, but with the wonderful feeling I had right now, I felt myself say, "I love you too N". Something I wasn't sure if my brain was ready to say, but apparently my heart was.

He pulled back and stood up to walk over and sit on the opposite bench. I was still in shock but could tell he had something to say, so I cleared my mind, best I could, and listened.

"White, I really need to tell you something, it has been bothering me for a while". He looked up at me, assessing my reaction.

'Uh oh' I thought but smiled and nodded for him to go on.

"I-" he stopped, "I-" he couldn't seem to get it out. He took a deep breath and said in a rushed sentence, "White, I am the king of Team Plasma".

He squinched his eyes closed, waiting for my reaction and when I didn't give one, he peeked at me.

In that moment I really don't know what my face looked like, but my mind was racing.

What? That couldn't be. N can't be the king of Team Plasma, they are bad people. N isn't bad. They do have the same moral values, but it can't be true. I was obviously in denial, and N took this small pause to blurt out the other thing that was on his mind,

"I know Ghetsis told you about the hero Team Plasma is waiting for. Well, I am supposedly that hero." He looked up at me, I stayed quiet, still in shock from the first statement.

"I will train Pokémon and rise to defeat the champion, it is then that my dream of liberating Pokémon will come true, and all Pokémon will be free beings".

He stopped, this time for good, waiting for my response.

I couldn't believe it, N was really not only the head of Team Plasma, but also planned on taking away people's Pokémon, and soon? I felt no emotion except for the strong denial.

"W-What?" I questioned, hoping he would say he was kidding, but he didn't. He started to move back to my bench but I held up a hand to stop him.

"How could you?" I asked, "Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"I wanted to, but I was afraid you wouldn't agree to getting to know each other, and definitely not to a relationship" N said now moving past my hand to sit on the bench next to me, "I had to get to know you, and I couldn't jeopardize it in any way".

My denial suddenly turned to anger.

"So you are telling me, not only are you part of the organization that are going to take away Pokémon, _my friends,_" I said pointing to myself, "But you are their leader? Oh, yeah, I have no idea why I wouldn't have wanted to get to know you". I said, going heavy on the sarcasm.

"But-" N started, but I cut him off.

"N, I thought you were better than that". I said tears filling my eyes. With this deluge of emotion, it finally turned to sadness, heartbreak.

"How can you be one of the people that steal Pokémon, and how could you have let me fall in love with you in the process?" I questioned.

I knew N wasn't bad, but I saw Team Plasma that way, and so it tainted my image of him. He only wanted what he believed in, but that belief was _wrong. _Or at least it was in my book anyway.

By now our car had gotten to the bottom and the man held open the door for us to climb out.

"Goodbye, N" I said, quickly shoving myself out and jogging away.

"White wait" I heard in the background. N's voice cracked so I knew he was getting choked up too, but I never looked back.

* * *

A few hours later I found myself outside with Talace. After N shared his secret I had hidden out in the Pokémon center for a while. I knew N wouldn't bother me. He wanted to come and look for me, but he knew that it wouldn't make things any better and he didn't want to make the situation any worse than it already was. After sitting around for a while I realized I needed to do something physical, and so training was the only thing I could think of.

Talace had just learned arm thrust and I was determined to make that move extremely powerful, since I knew it could come in handy in the future. I had brought him out to behind the Pokémon center, in a big field. We stood across from each other, and I mimicked the thrusting arm movements that he did. When you train one on one with your Pokémon, and are doing what they are doing, you are truly one with them, and it pushes them to work even harder.

After a while Talace looked worried and he started trying to talk to me; after a while I realized he knew something was up with me and wanted to know what. I explained that N was the head of Team Plasma, and that didn't make me happy.

When I said this Talace looked like he could blow up.

He was sort of like a father, or a big brother to me, weird as it is to say, the pig Pokémon really wanted to protect me, and when he knew N had hurt me, he was furious.

He blew smoke out of his nose, and I half expected him to spontaneously combust, but instead he flashed a bright white. I stood with my mouth hanging open.

Pretty soon the light dimmed and in front of me stood my Talace, now an Emboar.

He was huge, about two feet taller than me, and had gotten sturdy, he looked like he could really pack a punch now; and whenever he took a step, the whole ground shook.

"Oh Talace, that's amazing" I said, my mind now completely off of N.

Talace looked proud and shot some fire out of his nose, which was now bigger than my hand. When I had talked to Talace with N he had said how excited he was for the day he evolved, and it looked like his wish came true today.

I suddenly heard someone call my name. I turned around to see Nurse Joy with her head poking out of the Pokémon center's back door.

"White, there is a call to you from Professor Juniper". I nodded and returned Talace, to then run inside and pick up the phone.

Juniper's face flashed onto the screen and she smiled.

"Why hello White, how are you?"

I hesitated, and decided not to tell the truth, "Great" I answered.

"I really wanted to talk to you about your Pokémon here" she said her smile fading.

"Are they okay?" I asked with concern.

"Oh, yes they are doing great" she said, waving her hand showing I had nothing to be worried about. "It's just that I have been getting _a lot _of Pokémon from you lately, and I don't really know if I have the best facility for someone who is catching them in the numbers that you are". She said.

I waited, wondering what she was going to suggest.

"Have you heard of Professor Oak?" she asked.

"Of course, who hasn't?" I responded, "And isn't he a good friend of yours?"

She smiled, "Yes he is. Anyway, he has the best facility for Pokémon that you will ever find. He already has hundreds, and has room for hundreds more. If you plan to continue catching Pokémon I might suggest you send them there instead of here."

"I don't know….." I said, not having ever even talked to Professor Oak, I was hesitant.

"How about you go visit him" she said happily, "And you can make your decision after that".

"In Kanto?" I asked.

"Oh yes that's right, here White" she said and transferred something; I took it out to see it was a HM.

"That is the move Fly, you can teach it to one of your Pokémon and it will carry you to Kanto, and I think you already have a map."

I paused, I didn't know, but after a bit I realized it was exactly what I needed. I was frustrated with N, and all I wanted to do was get out of Unova for a while.

"Okay, I'll do it" I said. Professor Juniper looked pleased.

"Okay, I'll let him know that you are coming". She waved and the screen clicked to black.

I walked back to my room in the Pokémon center and prepared for the next day. It would be a big deal, I would be traveling to a whole different region, but I had to admit I was a little bit excited.

And little did I know what person I would meet there; and after that, I would be very glad I decided to go.


	12. A Different Journey

**Yay, Brock is making his first appearence. **

**That's all I think I have to say about this one. **

**Anyway, Enjoy! :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 12: A Different Journey**_

By eight in the morning I was ready to go. I had taught Sigilyph the move: fly, and after a while of practice flying, he and I were comfortable with it.

I knew that to get out of Unova you had to go to some sort of gate thing. It was the only way in or out; Unova took security very seriously. I took out my map and found it was on the western side, and after about an hour I had reached the checkpoint. I landed and got off of Sigilyph, and a man approached me.

"Where are you planning on going" he looked bored, and obviously didn't care too much for his job.

"Kanto" I answered. He looked at me skeptically.

"And do you know the rules for going out of the region?"

I didn't know there were rules so I shook my head.

He sighed, looking tired of our conversation already. He held out his hand.

"Trainer Card"

I handed him my card and he looked over it, walked over to a small building and handed it to another man inside.

"And you are planning on _only_ going to Kanto." He asked, walking back over to me.

"Yes" I answered, trying to keep my responses short.

"Would you like me to brief you on the rules?"

"Um, I guess?"

"How many badges do you have?"

"Uh three" I answered, suddenly self-conscious.

He looked up at me, then back down to a paper he was writing on.

"Okay, here are the rules". He paused and looked up, crossing his arms. "You cannot catch any Pokémon you see in other regions until you have eight badges, so no catching Pokémon." He paused and scribbled something else down, then re-crossed his arms. "And you may not challenge gyms or Pokémon leagues in other regions until you have beaten the elite 4".

My eyes widened. That sounded a bit harsh, hardly anyone beat the elite 4. I had always known Unova was the region that was most different from the others, and most isolated; also the toughest to get through, and the hardest to get in or out of, but this seemed a bit extreme.

But I accepted his rules since I didn't plan on catching Pokémon, or challenging gyms.

"Very well then" he said, walking back to the building where the man inside gave him back two cards now.

He handed them to me.

"There is your trainer card back, and the other is your pass to go into Kanto. Now if you ever have eight badges or beat the elite 4 you will need to have your pass updated. It grants you access to Kanto, anytime you like". He said this with absolutely no emotion, and looked a bit tired by the time he finished.

"Have fun". He said, still in a monotone voice. I almost laughed, but stifled it long enough to get back on Sigilyph.

"Hey, wait" the man said, and handed me a booklet, a map of Kanto. He then turned around, mumbling to himself, something about trainers, and went back into the building.

* * *

After about four hours I saw the large land mass that was Kanto. I flew for a while over the land, until I saw a spot that looked like it would be a good place not only for lunch, but to check the map, and find out where I was. I returned Sigilyph after we landed and sat on a log to eat my sandwich. I held the map out in front of me and looked it over carefully.

I knew Professor Oak's lab was in Pallet Town and….. I had no idea where I was. I thought it would be easy to find, but I was clearly mistaken. I had finished my lunch and was still looking at the map, possibly more confused now than I was when I started when I heard a voice.

"Hey, are you lost?" I looked up to see a girl with bright red hair looking at me. She was about my height and was carrying a Togepi in her arms. I looked behind her to see two boys. One was short with black hair and a happy looking Pikachu perched on his shoulder. And the other was taller, with brown hair, and looked to be about the same age as me.

"Um, yeah kinda" I said, embarrassed that I was having to ask for directions.

"Oh don't be worried, I'm guessing you are new here?" she said with a smile on her face.

I nodded.

"Hi my name is Misty" she said giving me a smile.

"I'm Ash," said the smaller boy.

"Pikachu" said the Pikachu on his shoulder, smiling.

I looked over to the taller one, waiting for his name but he didn't speak. Misty slowly turned around and looked up at him, and after a while gave him an elbow in the stomach.

"Oof," he shook his head, "And I'm Brock" he said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"My name is White" I said.

Misty and Ash seemed to be waiting for something, but nothing happened. After a while Misty's eyebrows shot up and she shrugged her shoulders looking back at Brock.

"I guess your ear won't be hurting with this one then". She said chuckling.

Brock's cheeks turned bright red and he growled a bit.

"Aaaaaanyway, where are you from?" she asked.

"Unova" I answered.

"Wow, that's a long ways away" Ash said, looking interested.

"And where are you heading?" Misty asked.

"Um, Pallet Town" I said, folding the map back up because apparently these people would be my guides, not a piece of paper.

"Oh hey, we are traveling that way now!" she said with an overload of excitement in her voice. "Would you like to come with us, it would be nice to have another girl to hang around for a change."

I nodded, these people seemed nice enough. "Sure, that would be great, as long as I am not being a bother".

"Not at all" Ash and Misty chirped together. They both looked back at Brock, who still hadn't said anything but his name.

"Oh, uh, yeah, that's great" he said, with an odd expression.

I stood up and we started walking.

"So where are you guys headed?" I asked.

Ash answered this time and with a lot of enthusiasm, "Viridian City, to get my eighth badge" he said pumping a fist into the air.

"Pi-Pikachu" said his Pikachu, also pumping it's tiny fist.

"Cool, so I take it you already have seven badges?" I asked, very impressed.

"Sure do" he said, putting his hands behind his head, he then looked over to me, "Are you a trainer too?"

"Sure am" I said. I could tell Ash was determined, and I found that he reminded me of myself a little bit.

Ash gave me a sly look, "Do you want to have a battle?" he asked, suddenly looking extremely excited.

I thought about it for a second then replied, "Sure thing".

'Hey' I thought, 'what do I have to lose, this will be good practice, especially since he has seven badges already'.

"Yes!" he jumped into the air, "This will be great warm up for my gym battle".

We soon found a field, and Ash and I were standing across from each other, while Misty was perched on a rock, and Brock was standing between us, as the self-assigned referee.

"This is a battle between Ash of Pallet Town, and White from Unova. Each will use one Pokémon; the first to knock out the other's Pokémon is the winner. Begin!"

"Alright, let's go Pikachu".

Pikachu nodded and stood at the ready, waiting for my choice.

"Pikachu was my first Pokémon" Ash explained, "How about you use your first Pokémon too".

I nodded, "Sounds good to me, Talace let's go" I said throwing his ball up in the air. In a flash Talace was out and also standing, ready to battle.

I looked over to see Ash, Misty, and Brock's mouths wide open. I was confused, then after a second realized they didn't expect to see such a powerful looking Pokémon. I grinned.

"You ready Ash?" I asked.

"You bet" he said, his face losing the surprised look, and turning to determined.

"Pikachu, thunderbolt".

"Counter it with Heat Crash" I said. Heat crash was a handy little move he had learned, and since Pikachu didn't weigh much, this would be good.

Their attacks collided and the result was an explosion, but Pikachu was the only one who was blown backwards. The great thing about Talace being an Emboar was that he wasn't easily moved, he weighed a lot now, and that worked to our advantage in most situations.

"Quick attack Pikachu" Ash called, and Pikachu was a blur moving towards Talace.

"Arm thrust Talace" and at the last moment before Pikachu hit him, he thrusted his arm forward to hit Pikachu, making the momentum Pikachu had, work against him.

The small yellow Pokémon was having trouble getting up and Ash looked really worried.

"Come on Pikachu buddy, you can do it".

"Pika-Pi" and in an instant Pikachu was sturdy again.

"Finish this with Flame Charge" I said and the spiraling flame burst forth from Talace's nose, to knock the Pikachu down, and this time, it wouldn't be getting back up.

"Pikachu is unable to battle, White is the winner" I heard Brock say, pointing his arm at me, and smiling a bit. It looked like Brock had gotten over his little shy spell, or whatever it was.

I laughed and hugged Talace, "You were great" I said. Talace snorted a large ball of smoke and patted me gently on the back.

I returned him and walked over to Ash, who was holding a worn out Pikachu.

"Here" I said, rummaging around in my bag to pull out a super potion. After a few minutes Pikachu was back to normal, and Ash seemed very relieved, but something was bothering him.

"How many badges do you have?" he asked, watching Pikachu play with Togepi.

"Three" I replied. Ash looked even more discouraged. "If it makes you feel any better, you were the toughest opponent I think I have ever battled against" I said.

Ash did look a little happier at that and Misty patted him on the shoulder, "Don't worry Ash, after that, battling the gym will seem like a breeze" she laughed and so did I.

"So Misty, are you a trainer too?" I asked.

"Yup, but I only train water Pokémon," her eyes glistened and I could tell she truly loved them.

"And do you train a specific type Ash" I said.

"Nope, I love all types of Pokémon; I don't think I could pick one to be the best if my life depended on it. What about you?" he asked, looking at me.

"Well I train all types, but my favorites are definitely fire." I said, smiling at the thought of Talace.

"Yuck" said Misty, sticking her tongue out, "Fire types always have attitudes, and are drama queens" she said turning her gaze to Ash, "Just like your Charizard." She giggled.

Ash gave her a look and I chuckled.

I turned to Brock, he had looked familiar to me, but I still couldn't put my finger on it.

"And are you a trainer Brock?"

"Yup, he said, Rock types are my specialty" he puffed out his chest at this fact.

"Oh yeah" I said snapping my fingers, "aren't you the gym leader in Pewter City?"

He turned to me, looking surprised, "Yeah, I used to be, but I left to travel" he paused, "You know who I am?" he was more saying this to himself than anybody else and his cheeks turned red.

Both Ash and Misty laughed, I was completely lost at why they thought it was so funny when Brock was embarrassed, but I brushed it off.

"So why are you heading to Pallet?" Ash asked after a few quiet minutes.

"I am going to see Professor Oak".

Ash gave a big smile, "Cool, why are you going to see him?"

"Well I am a bit of a Pokémon collector, and the Professor in Unova suggested if I was planning on having a lot of Pokémon, maybe I should consider sending them to him since he has the biggest and best when it comes to housing Pokémon. So I came to see the lab".

Misty nodded, "It is the biggest and best alright, I don't see a better person to be handling Pokémon than Professor Oak".

I smiled, hoping he would be as great as they described him.

"We should probably set up camp for the night" said Brock looking up at the dimming sky.

We all nodded.

After a couple of minutes Brock had a fire going and was making a stew, he was apparently the one who took care of everyone, the 'mother' of the group, if you will.

Misty and Ash had called out all their Pokémon for dinner. Misty had a Staryu, a Goldeen, and a Psyduck, of which wasn't the brightest, and she was very weary of this fact. I on the other hand thought he was cute. Oh, and of course she had her Togepi too.

Ash had a Bulbasaur, a Squirtle, a Pidgeotto, and his Pikachu. I made a face.

"I thought you said you had a Charizard" I said, as this Pokémon was the one I was most excited to see.

Ash scratched the back of his head, "well, you see, it doesn't exactly listen to me, so I don't let it out that often". I shook my head and smiled.

After talking with them I found out about their past and their goals. Ash wanted to be a Pokémon master, Misty wanted to be the best Water Pokémon trainer, and Brock wanted to be a Pokémon breeder. I also found out Brock was in fact my age, Misty was two years younger than me, and Ash was three years younger.

After a while Brock brought out some canisters, each with a different label.

"What's that?" I asked, curious.

"My special recipe Pokémon food" he answered.

"Hm, can I have a taste?"

"Sure" he said and handed me a can with a fire symbol on it.

I took a bite, and paused, "Wow this stuff is good, I bet fire Pokémon love it" I said, happily looking into the can.

"Aw, thanks" he said, blushing again.

"Do you mind if I give some to my Pokémon?" I asked.

"Not at all, he responded and walked over to his backpack to pull out some more.

"Come on out guys" I said, and six Pokémon were soon standing before me.

My Sigilyph, Tranquill, Zebstrika, Darumaka, Venipede, and of course Talace.

All three of my traveling companions were fascinated with my Pokémon, and watched them closely as they started to eat.

They loved the food, and Brock was very proud of this.

"Dinner is ready" he called after a while.

After just one taste my eyes flew open, "Holy crap this stuff is amazing".

"Yup Brock is the best cook ever, isn't he?" Ash said, quickly and loudly eating his stew.

"Well I don't know about that," Brock said sitting down next to me with his own bowl.

"I have to agree with him" I said, "This is the best stew I have ever had".

Brock's cheeks once again turned red, and he tried to pass it off as having a sunburn, which I really doubted since he was so tan, but I didn't push the matter.

"Ash you need to slow down, you are such a pig" Misty said, as Ash poured himself his tenth bowl.

"At least I don't look like one" he said, digging into the delicious stew.

"Hey, what did you say?" Misty shrieked, and started to stand up.

Their bickering continued and Brock and I continued to look from Misty to Ash, and back, and forth, following the argument. After a while I leaned over to Brock.

"Do they always fight like this?" I asked, as Ash then stood up, severely offended by Misty's newest insult: that he wasn't a good trainer.

Brock nodded, "You would think they were brother and sister" he said, taking a bite.

After finishing dinner we all laid out our sleeping bags, and said goodnight. I expected to fall right to sleep since I had had such a tiring day, but with the quiet, I found my thoughts wandering back to N. I laid there, thinking for almost two hours before I fell asleep. I was upset with N, but I didn't know exactly why. Yes, he was the leader of Team Plasma, the organization that went against everything I believed in; but he did have a point. I'm sure some Pokémon had trainers who didn't treat them right, and in that case I think Pokémon should be free, but with trainers like Misty, Ash, and I, I didn't think so. Then I realized that I had never in fact seen Brock's Pokémon, and I made a mental note to ask him in the morning.

I sighed and turned over, a little bit excited for the next morning.


	13. The Real Difference

**So chapter 13 here we go. Sorry this is kind of a bunch of little blips, but I need to get them all back to Pallet, so yeah. **

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 13: The Real Difference**_

I woke up in the morning to look over and see Misty and Ash still sleeping, but Brock was nowhere to be found. I quietly got up; just then I saw Brock push his way out of the forest and back into the clearing carrying some firewood. He jumped when he saw me but smiled.

"I was just about to get you guys up" he said and walked over to both Misty and Ash and shook them awake.

He had made breakfast, and it was just as delicious as yesterday's dinner. And that's when I remembered what I had said last night.

"Oh, hey Brock, I never got to see your Pokémon."

"Oh yeah, I guess I forgot to let them out last night" he said and fished four pokeballs out of his backpack to toss them up in the air.

Out came three Pokémon that I expected, a Geodude, a Zubat, and an Onix, which I didn't expect to be as big as it was, but the one that surprised me was a small Vulpix.

"oooh" I squealed in excitement. "You have a Vulpix!" I said looking over at a smiling Brock.

"Yup" he said, looking proud. I walked over to the small fox, sat down, and petted its head, and it smiled, "Vulpix" its high voice squealed and it climbed up to sit on my lap.

"Wow, I guess Vulpix really likes you" Brock said with a bit of amazement.

"Pokémon can sense if the trainer specializes in their type, and tend to take a liking to them; usually because the type people specialize in are their favorite, and we tend to spoil them more" I said turning to Misty, "I'm sure water Pokémon react the same way to you".

She nodded, looking like she was thinking really hard, "Yeah I guess they kind of do" she said, smiling a bit.

After a while Brock returned his Pokémon and we were on our way.

* * *

It took about three days before we hit a sign that said we were almost in Viridian city, and in the meantime I really got to know my traveling companions. We had become like a little family, and I felt extremely comfortable around them, even though I had just met them a few days ago.

We set up camp for the last night before Ash's gym battle. Brock was cooking, Ash was training, and Misty was playing with Togepi, this had become our routine. Usually I helped one of them, not usually Brock because I wasn't exactly the most wonderful cook in the world. In other words; everything I tried to cook either burned, or just tasted like I had made it with rocks. And with Brock, he could make something delicious, _out_ of rocks.

But today I just sat and watched them, my new friends.

Just then I heard a ring and I picked up my X-transceiver, expecting to see my mom's name, but instead I saw an unknown number. I shrugged and picked it up.

"Hello" I said in a cheery voice.

Soon I saw a familiar face pop up, and he looked worried. I drew in a quick breath,

"White!" he said, a small smile of relief on his face.

It was N. "I don't want to talk to you" I snapped at him, and hung up.

I looked up to see all three of my companions looking at me with confused expressions. A slight color came to my cheeks, "Oh, it's just an…. old friend" I said, laughing awkwardly.

They didn't question me further, as they sensed I wouldn't want to talk about it.

Every night since I was gone I had thought about N. I had finally come to the conclusion of why I was mad at him. 'He was going to take away everyone's Pokémon, including mine, and there wasn't anything I, or anyone else could do about it'. So I hadn't decided where I wanted to go from there; I knew it would be a while before he became champion and that made me a little more relaxed, but not much. I finally decided that I would just go day by day, and still refuse to talk to him. Even though deep down, I still wanted to; but that was way deep down and not accessible right now.

I noticed, even however brief our conversation was, that he didn't look right. He looked tired, and the sparkles in his eyes were gone. He didn't have his usual calm and collected aura; and what bothered me the most was that his voice seemed a bit raspy; it hadn't lost its smoothness, it was just reduced.

I cleared my head, after all, how he felt wasn't my problem. But I still felt sort of responsible.

I sighed and stood up, stretching.

'Who had given N my number anyway'? I figured it was either Bianca or Cheren, since the only other people that had it were my mom and Professor Juniper.

I shook it off and went to help Ash train.

* * *

The next morning we were in front of the Viridian Gym by 8:00 and Ash could barely contain his excitement.

After a minute of Ash going on and on about the degree of excited he was, we heard a screech and a bright red convertible pulled up behind us. I turned around to see a boy that looked to be the same age as Ash, and a car full of girls. The boy hopped out and stood in front of Ash.

"Gary" Ash growled, his whole body shaking.

"Why hello there Ashy boy, are you here for a gym battle too?" the boy who was apparently named Gary said in a cocky tone.

"You bet, and this one is for my eighth badge" Ash said standing up straight, "And how many badges do you have?" he asked Gary, obviously expecting him to say he had less.

"Hah, I already have ten badges, I just thought I would stop by on my way to Pallet, and see if I could obliterate another gym leader" he said, clicking open a badge case, letting Ash see all ten of them.

If I didn't know any better I swore Ash began drooling but he soon was snapped out of his daze by Gary.

"Move out of the way" he said and lightly pushed Ash aside so he could walk into the gym. Even though Gary had barely touched Ash, he stumbled backwards and knocked into Misty, which in turn caused Togepi to fly into the air, to be picked up by a Fearow and carried off.

"TOGEPI!" Misty yelled and flailed her arms around in the air.

"Oops" Ash said scratching his head, "That's unfortunate".

"THAT'S UNFORTUNATE?" Misty yelled and ran over to grab Ash by the collar. "IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO POOR LITTLE TOGEPI IT IS YOUR FAULT, AND YOU WON'T LIVE TO SEE ANOTHER DAY." she said shaking him.

"Gee Misty calm down, we'll get Togepi back, don't worry".

"DON'T WORRY, THAT'S WHAT YOU SAID WHEN YOU BORROWED MY BIKE, AND GUESS WHAT HAPPENED, YOU WRECKED IT. YOU _BETTER_ HOPE WE FIND TOGEPI, COME ON" she said stomping way with Ash's collar still in hand.

Brock and I just stood there watching, wide eyed. He bent over and whispered out of the corner of his mouth, "I don't know if you really want to get caught up in this, the road to Pallet is right there" he pointed to a dirt road. "And it should be just a couple of hours away."

I nodded, and mouthed a 'thank you'. He smiled, "We will be there by tonight".

* * *

I had been walking for about two hours when I saw the town of Pallet.

'So this is Ash's hometown' I thought. I had grown close to all three of them, but I had to admit, I was closest to Brock, probably because we could share the awkwardness of watching Ash and Misty fight all the time.

I walked until I saw a big building on top of a hill, and a sign at the bottom labeled, 'Professor Oak's laboratory'. I took a deep breath and walked up the road to knock on the door.

I knocked and heard a muffled voice from inside, "Come on in, it's open".

I turned the knob and walked in, closing the door behind me. It was a moderately sized room, the entry hall to his lab, and I heard his voice come from upstairs.

"I'm up here".

I slowly walked up the stairs, I had to admit I was a little nervous to meet Professor Oak. I mean, he was legendary. I stepped in his office to see him hunched over a computer typing; but when he saw me he stood up with a smile.

"Ah, you must be White, I'm Professor Oak" he said, holding out his hand.

I shook it hesitantly, trying to focus on not letting my mouth drop open at the shock of meeting him.

He started off by explaining how his facility worked. That he had specific areas and atmospheres for different types of Pokémon. He then took me outside to show me. I had to admit his lab was extremely impressive and all the Pokémon looked very happy. After about three hours we ended our tour and he brought me back up to his office.

"Oh, and White, I really do hope you chose to have your Pokémon here. I haven't ever had a chance to study Pokémon from Unova and would be very excited to see yours."

I smiled; I had made up my mind that his lab was a perfect place for my Pokémon. I had known this after only about a half an hour of his tour; it was simply perfect.

"I would be honored if you would house my Pokémon here. It is clearly an amazing facility and I think they will love it here." I smiled.

"Fantastic" he said, "I will let Professor Juniper know and she can transfer all of your Pokémon here".

I smiled and nodded. Just then I heard some footsteps on the stairs and looked over to see Ash marching up looking very happy. He was followed by a worn out Misty, and Brock, who looked bored until he saw me, then he smiled. And Togepi was in fact still in Misty's possession.

"So how did the battle go Ash?" I asked, having a feeling about what the answer would be.

"Take a look at this" he said, holding out a green badge.

"Oh that's the eighth one if I remember correctly, right Ash?" said Professor Oak, looking impressed.

"Yup" Ash said, now unable to contain his excitement he began doing a happy dance.

"Well that means that you can compete in the Pokémon League then" Professor Oak explained, "It is held at the Indigo Plateau, but it doesn't start for two months, so I suggest that you do some serious training in the meantime."

Ash made a fist of determination, "You bet I will, and after that my Pokémon will be unbeatable."

Misty rolled her eyes and Brock chuckled to himself.

* * *

Ash, Misty, Brock, and I made our way to Ash's house to pay a visit to his mother. She was a very nice woman and was happy to house us for the two months before the competition.

She also had a Mr. Mime which meant well but often ended up creating more of a mess than was there before he tried to clean.

"So, White" I heard Mrs. Ketchum start, I looked over in her direction, "I hear you are from Unova?"

"Born and raised" I replied taking a sip of coffee.

"Wow that is a ways away."

"Sure is" I answered, I opened my mouth to go on but at that moment heard a ring. I looked down to see my X-transceiver once again going off, and I saw N's number on the screen. I sighed and put it back in my bag. N had called at least two times a day since I hit Kanto, and he wasn't slowing down any time soon. He would always leave a message and he still looked tired and sad. I would never have admitted it, but I liked listening to his messages, it was nice to see him, and hear his voice.

"Aren't you going to answer it?" Mrs. Ketchum asked.

Misty laughed, "She hasn't picked it up since I met her, it looks like you are avoiding someone White" she said, giving me a look.

"Um, I really don't think this is a good time to talk about it" I said, being a little short. It was a sensitive subject, even if they didn't know it. I yawned and looked at the time, "Well I better be going to bed, you too Ash if you are planning on training tomorrow," I said glancing over at him.

He nodded and went upstairs. I acted like I was going to bed but slipped out the back door to go and sit on a ledge overlooking a field in Ash's backyard.

I felt so conflicted. I just kind of wished I had never met N; and yet at the same time I wanted to run back to him and tell him I was sorry. It was an odd feeling, something I had never felt before. I was brought out of my deep thoughts by someone's shadow next to me.

I looked over to see Brock sit down next to me. He looked over and smiled, then looked up at the moon. I followed his gaze and we sat like that for a good ten minutes, not saying anything.

Brock was different than anyone I had met before. He was so caring, and always knew exactly what to say, or not say in my case right now.

He turned to me and put an arm around my shoulder to pull me in close. I could tell he wanted to ask me about who kept calling, and why that obviously got under my skin every time; but he just stayed quiet, knowing that was what I wanted. I rested my head on his shoulder and sighed.

"Thank you Brock"

He nodded, "Anytime".


	14. The Fun Days

**So here is chapter 14, I really like the next chapter, but that is later. Brock is being friendzoned, that's all I could think while I was writing this, but he will get out of it eventually. **

**Anywho, Enjoy! :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 14: The Fun Days**_

For the next week or so we stayed at Ash's house. He trained, or rather got distracted and Misty and I would try and get him back on track; **try** being the key word there. I trained with him as well, I had a great time with Ash, and it was good for my Pokémon as well as his. Misty and I went shopping and had some girl time, something she was extremely excited about since she had been traveling with all guys for a while. Brock and I spent some time together too. We went to a breeding convention together; I wasn't really interested in breeding, but I figured I would find out some things, and sure enough, I was overloaded with useful information about Pokémon. Every time N would call, and I would suddenly feel sad, Brock would be there to cheer me up without fail. I also tried my hand at cooking, which didn't work so well, much to Brock's amusement.

Finally one morning Mrs. Ketchum invited us all to go to Seafoam Island with her and some friends. We gladly accepted and soon found ourselves on a beautiful sandy beach.

Misty, being a water Pokémon trainer, was obviously very fond of the ocean and almost exploded with excitement when we finally arrived.

"Come on guys, let's go swimming" she yelled, a huge smile on her face.

After we all changed, we went down to the beach.

Brock and Ash were already in the water and Misty and I were content with sitting on the land for a while, getting some sun, for what would be a tan for her, but nothing for me, I didn't burn or tan, it was almost inhuman.

After a while we both gave in to getting in the ocean. She was wearing a purple and blue striped bikini, and I was wearing a red and white polka dot one; and we didn't realize this would be a problem till we got down to the ocean.

"I brought a beach ball" Misty said, happily holding up a blow up toy that looked like a Master ball. When she didn't get an answer her smile faded. Ash and Brock were quiet; their mouths slightly open staring at us. Well, Ash was staring at Misty, and Brock was staring at me.

"What's wrong guys?" she asked, a little confused.

"Well it's kind of weird Misty" Ash started, "seeing you look like a girl for once" he said, chuckling.

"What?" Misty said in a high pitched voice, and chucked the ball to hit Ash in the face, knocking him over. Brock and I laughed, and so did Pikachu, who was happily floating on a tiny raft.

We had fun in the ocean for a couple of hours, even taking a lesson in windsurfing, that of which I actually wasn't too bad at. I noticed Brock was looking at me more than usual all day, and when I met his gaze he quickly averted it, and blushed.

We then trudged up on the beach.

"That was fun guys" Misty said. We all agreed; just then we heard a weird sound and looked up to see a balloon shaped like a Meowth.

"Ugh, Team Rocket" I heard Ash say.

I had heard of Team Rocket but didn't know if they were still an organization anymore; apparently they were.

When the balloon was down far enough to see who was inside, I wasn't sure what I thought. There was a woman with long maroon-ish colored hair, a man with blue hair, and a Meowth. The humans in the group were wearing white uniforms with a red R on them, and the Meowth was standing on the edge of the balloon, his paws on his hips.

"Prepare for trouble" the woman said.

"Make it double" said the man.

'What on Earth are these people doing' I thought to myself.

"To protect the world from devastation" the woman said striking a pose.

"To unite all people within our nation" said the man, striking the same pose.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love"

"To extend our reach to the stars above"

"Jessie" said the girl tossing her hair behind her.

"James" said the man pulling out a rose.

"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight"

"Meowth, that's right" said the small cat. My mouth was slightly open at the sight of a talking Pokémon but I tried to regain my thoughts.

"Can't we have one day without you guys trying to steal Pikachu" Misty asked, obviously annoyed.

"Hahahaha" the girl named Jessie laughed, "I think you already know the answer" she looked down and I saw her eyes slowly glide to me, "Well look at that, there is a new twirp in the bunch" she said, putting her hands on her hips.

"Yes, and she's good looking too" the man named James said, in a very seductive voice with a charismatic smile to match.

I looked to my right to see Brock looking angry at this man's comment, teeth bared and a low sound was coming from the back of his throat.

"Oh, it looks like I poked the bear" James said, pretending to look scared, "Meowth, your turn"

"Roger" the Meowth said and pushed a button. A hand came out of the bottom of the balloon and grabbed Pikachu off Ash's shoulder.

"No" Ash yelled, reaching for one of his pokeballs which were lying on the ground.

"No Ash, I got this one" I heard Brock say. We all looked a bit confused but just as he said, Brock pulled out a pokeball of his own.

"Onix, let's go" he said and the giant creature appeared out of the small ball.

"Bind" he called and Onix easily broke the mechanical arm, sending Pikachu back down to Ash.

"Wah!" cried the Meowth, his mouth wide open in shock.

"We aren't done here" Brock growled, "Onix rock throw now!"

By now I wanted to battle too so I called out Talace.

"Talace, help Onix out with Flame Charge".

The minute his feet hit the ground a powerful blast of flames flew from his nose to ignite the rocks that were steadily gaining ground towards Team Rocket's balloon. When they collided, the result was an explosion and the three members were sent into the air.

"Looks like we're blasting off again" they all said, and disappeared as a twinkle on the horizon.

Both Brock and I called back our Pokémon.

"Wow you guys that was amazing" Misty said, impressed.

We both smiled.

But little did I know that Misty wasn't the only one who picked up on my battling skills. About twenty feet away was sitting a man, who was also very impressed, but what we didn't know, was that he was in fact the head of Team Rocket.

* * *

About an hour later I found myself sitting on a couch in our hotel room. Brock was reading a book, Misty was taking a shower, and Ash looked just about as bored as I felt. I looked up to his shoulder to see its permanent resident, his Pikachu. Ash and Pikachu were very close, they reminded me of Talace and I, except he couldn't sit on my shoulder. I smiled to myself picturing the situation. I guess that was just the bond you had with your first Pokémon. I heard a ring and sighed, no doubt one of N's daily calls, we all ignored it at first, but after it finished ringing I walked over to pull it out of my bag. I was going to call Cheren and Bianca to see who the culprit was in giving N my number. As I walked out of the room I saw Brock give me an asking glance, I smiled and shook my head for him not to follow me. When I was sitting in the bedroom I carefully dialed Bianca. After a few rings she picked up.

"Hello" her happy smile flashed onto the screen. "White!" she exclaimed looking somewhere between happy and surprised. I heard a crash in the background and soon saw Cheren's face next to hers. She looked at him skeptically. "You don't need to hurry so fast that you knock over a chair" she said in a disapproving tone.

He ignored her and addressed me, "White, where are you, we haven't been able to find you anywhere".

"Oh…." I paused, trying to come up with the right words, "I'm just taking a little vacation". Cheren opened his mouth to continue but I cut him off. "Who was the idiot who gave N my number?"

Cheren's eyes widened and he looked over at Bianca who looked a little embarrassed. "You didn't" he said, now a little angry.

"Well Cheren had said you two were close, so when N asked me for your number I figured you would be fine with it" Bianca said.

"Well I'm not _exactly_ fine with it" I said in a calm voice.

Cheren had his head in his hands but looked up at this comment, "Why, did something happen?" he asked, a small smile popping up on his face.

Bianca elbowed him, "Why are you smiling" she turned back to me, "White did something happen?"

I looked down, "Yeah kind of" I said, "He just turned out not to be who I thought he was".

Cheren answered this time, "I KNEW IT, is he a serial killer? No wait, I bet he robs banks".

Both Bianca and I looked at Cheren with disbelief.

"What?" Bianca asked in confusion as Cheren was still thinking of what N could possibly have as an occupation.

He looked up, "I'm just saying, there is something off about that guy…" he paused, "But seriously does he kill people?"

"NO" I said, shocked at why he would think that, "He is the King of Team Plasma". My eyes widened, I didn't actually mean to tell them who he was, but with all the horrible accusations made by Cheren it slipped out.

They both looked surprised.

"Woah" said Bianca, obviously in shock.

Cheren thought for a minute then made a face, "Well, I think that might be worse than a serial killer" he nodded to himself.

"You've got to be kidding me" Bianca said turning to Cheren, "So wanting to free Pokémon is worse than killing people?" she raised her eyebrows.

"I'm just saying, they aren't freeing Pokémon, they are stealing them, that's like kidnapping you know"

"Yes so kidnapping is worse than murdering now?" Bianca asked in a high pitch voice. I could tell she was about to slap some sense into Cheren.

"Hey, I'm just saying" he said lifting his hands up in defense.

"GUYS" I said pulling their attention back to me, and interrupting their increasingly weird conversation.

"Their aim isn't to steal Pokémon," I couldn't believe I was defending N. Now that I thought about it though he _had_ seemed upset when I had told him his grunts had stolen Bianca's Pokémon. I think he wanted to liberate them, but get as many trainers to do it on their own, before he became champion and forced them to do so. My angry thoughts towards N reappeared at the mention of forcing people to give up their Pokémon.

"White?" Bianca asked, obviously wondering what I was thinking about for so long. I blinked a few times and was pulled back into the real world.

"Listen we have to go" Bianca said, "I'm sorry for giving N your number".

"When are you coming back to Unova White?" Cheren asked, almost pleading.

I really didn't know when I was coming back. I didn't want to yet, but I knew I needed to soon; it had been two weeks since I left.

"I don't know Cheren" I said, looking a little sad.

"Well, let us know" he said waving.

After the screen clicked black I picked up N's message. It was the usual, he looked tired and unhappy, and asked where I was, and to call him back so we could talk this out. And I think we both knew I wasn't going to do that, but he still obviously had some hope.

I trudged back into the living room where Misty and Ash were watching TV and Brock was still reading his book. He looked up when I entered and his eyes followed me over to my bag where I put up my X-transceiver. I walked into the extra bedroom and sat down on a small couch. I didn't know what I wanted to do, but I knew I wasn't in the mood for TV right now. Pretty soon I saw Brock's figure in the doorway.

"You okay?" he asked, walking over to sit next to me.

"Yeah" I sighed.

He put his arm around me and I once again laid my head on his shoulder, and wrapped my arms around him in a half hug.

Brock was an amazing friend, and was always there for me. I sighed.

"N" I said out loud.

Brock looked confused and turned his gaze down to me. "What?"

"The person who keeps calling, his name is N"

I had known Brock was really interested in who kept calling, and he grinned when he realized I felt comfortable enough around him to let him know.

"So who is N?" he asked.

I hesitated, I really didn't know how to describe him, and I had to think awhile.

"Um, a friend"

Brock chuckled and I looked up at him, "But something tells me he was more than a friend" he said raising his eyebrows and looking down at me.

I blushed and tilted my head down trying to hide it.

"Kind of" I said with a smile.

"So you guys were somewhere between friends and boyfriend and girlfriend" he said his words carefully, and I could tell it was a bit awkward for him.

He was so knowledgeable when it came to advice, especially when it involved relationships.

"Yeah" I answered adjusting my head on his shoulder.

"And I am guessing you two had some sort of fight?"

I thought for a minute, it wasn't exactly a fight, more of a disagreement. But it was bigger than that. I simply didn't know what to call it.

"Kinda"

I could tell he wanted to ask what the fight was about, but he stopped, knowing I wasn't comfortable saying much more.

"Well he is an idiot if he did something to hurt you" he said, his voice shaking, but I could hear a smile in it.

I giggled. Brock was amazing; I had definitely made a life-long friend.


	15. Called Back Down to Earth

**Welp here is chapter 15, it is a bit long, but hey, alot happens. As I said in a past chapter I am trying to stay pretty true to how the games go, just adding things to go along with it. And with the Brock, Misty, and Ash stuff I am trying to stay pretty close to some of the episodes, just to give a sense of time; as in the last chapter when I had some references from the episodes, "Beauty and the Beach", and "The Evolution Solution".**

**So yeah, the only thing I have to make a coment on rather than that, is the new game PETA has out, taking a stab at pokemon. I think it is sad that they are trying to sabatoge a kids game. Thats all I have to say on that though.**

**Anywho, sorry for the ramblings, Enjoy! :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 15: Called back down to Earth.**_

We stayed on Seafoam Island for another week before we headed back. It was one of the most fun weeks I had ever had. We swam in the ocean, trained Pokémon, and did some more windsurfing. And after the week was over we returned to Pallet town.

Ash was determined to get himself in shape for the Pokémon league so in the mornings we now all ran together. I wasn't exactly a long distance running type of person, but I figured I could use some exercise so I reluctantly agreed.

And our routine continued. Get up, eat breakfast, (made deliciously by Brock), train, eat lunch (also made by Brock), train, eat dinner, (still made by Brock), and go to bed. In between all this Ash would fudge and watch TV and we had to peel him off of the couch to get back to training. And of course N's calls kept coming.

Finally after a week and a half we got a call from Professor Oak saying that my Pokémon had arrived from Unova. I was elated and ran as fast as I could to his lab, followed by my companions.

I went out in the back to see all my Pokémon, which had come to be quite a herd by now. I sat down and hugged them all and asked them how they were, and was answered with a happy voice and a smile from all my Pokémon; they obviously approved of being here.

"Huh, you've got some nice looking Pokémon there" I heard a vaguely familiar voice say. I stood up and turned around to see Gary.

"Uh thanks" I said. Ash was shaking like always when he saw Gary, he just got under his skin so easily. Misty looked unimpressed and Brock was listening carefully.

"What would you say to having a battle?" Gary asked, holding up a pokeball.

"Sure" I said smiling; I could never turn down an offer to a battle.

Pretty soon Gary and I were standing across from each other, and Brock once again was the referee.

"This is a battle between White from Unova, and Gary from Pallet town. Each trainer will use one Pokémon; the first to knock out the other's Pokémon is the winner"

"Let's go Arcanine" called Gary and a large fire Pokémon emerged.

"Guess this will be a fire against fire match then." I said raising my eyebrows. "Let's go Talace".

And my Emboar was standing before me in an instant. Talace sized up the competition and blew some smoke out his nose, trying to intimidate.

"Begin" Brock yelled lifting his arms up into the air.

"Arcanine, fire blast" Gary called and the giant dog barked out a five pointed star made of fire.

"Dodge and use Arm thrust" I said. Talace easily avoided the flame and went charging towards the Arcanine. You would think Emboars would be slow, but Talace could hold his own when it came to speed.

"Dodge and use take down" Gary called.

The dog narrowly avoided Talace's attack, and my Pokémon was visibly angered by this.

Arcanine jumped up in the air to come flying down towards Talace which was exactly what I had wanted.

"Arm thrust" I said calmly. Talace sneered and at the last moment slammed a fist into the Arcanine, sending it flying.

Gary looked worried and watched as his Pokémon struggled to get up. Talace looked back at me with a look I would recognize anywhere. He knew he had learned a new move. I thought, and realized the next one would be flamethrower. I beamed. Flamethrower would be perfect.

"Alright Talace, flamethrower".

This is what he had been waiting for, and a huge blast of flames, almost bigger than me emerged from Talace's nose.

"Quick dodge" Gary yelled and the dog once again narrowly escaped.

"Don't let him" I said, and Talace grinned when he knew what I meant. The flames didn't stop as Talace tilted his head so he hit the large dog head on with his attack.

This time the Arcanine didn't get up.

"Arcanine is unable to battle, Talace and White are the winners" Brock winked at me and I smiled back.

"Great job Talace" I said, and my Pokémon nodded, thanking me for the chance to battle a worthy opponent.

Gary was upset and soon disappeared but not till after he shook my hand and told me what a great trainer I was.

Ash thought it was awesome that Gary had lost and continued to rub it in his face for weeks to come.

* * *

I found myself crawling into bed that night, extremely happy. I had a lot of fun with Ash, Misty, and Brock. Just as soon as I had laid down I heard Brock's voice.

"White?" he was standing at the bottom of the stairs calling up.

"Yeah" I called back.

"Can you help me with something real quick?"

I sighed, "Sure I'll be right there"

I wondered why he wanted me to come back downstairs, everyone was asleep, and I thought he had been too, but apparently not. I walked down the stairs to a dark house.

"Brock?" I questioned a little worried.

"I'm in the kitchen" he said, his voice quivering a bit.

I walked into the kitchen to see something I really hadn't expected. The counters were filled with bowls, measuring spoons and cups, mixers, mixing spoons, and tons of ingredients. I looked over to see Brock with an apron on with his arm extended holding another apron out to me.

"I knew it bothers you that you can't cook, so" he said, puffing out his chest. "Welcome to Brock's cooking class 101."

I giggled. "Are you sure?" I asked.

"You bet" he said flashing a smile and giving me the apron. After I put it on I turned to him.

"So what does Brock's cooking class exactly entail" I asked, a little suspicious.

"Well, I will be teaching you how to make one basic thing to eat every night for a week" he said, trying to sound professional.

"Okay" I said, giving in, "What's first, oh master chef?"

He chuckled and turned to the counter to point to a recipe.

"Chocolate cake, night #1". He said handing me the sheet.

I looked it over and turned my gaze back up to him.

"Let's do this" I said making a fist of determination. We both laughed.

It took us about five hours to make a cake that should have only taken one and a half; but I had an amazing time. We joked around, shoved batter in each other's faces, and all in all made a huge mess. It looked like a flour bomb had gone off in that kitchen by the end, but I had successfully made a chocolate cake with white icing, so I was happy. After the lengthy task of cleaning up was done we were both exhausted and collapsed on the couch for a good night's sleep.

* * *

In the morning I woke up to Misty about an inch away from my face.

"What were you guys doing last night?" she asked.

I looked over to see Brock sitting on the couch, but he was in fact still asleep. 'What a weird position to sleep in', I thought. I was laying length wise on the couch with my feet in his lap.

"We were cooking" I answered.

"Well that would explain it then" she said walking into the kitchen.

'But we cleaned everything up' I thought. When I removed my feet from Brock he slowly woke up. I walked into the kitchen to see what Misty was talking about. We had cleaned the kitchen till it shined, but had forgotten the table which looked like it was covered with snow, when in fact it was a mixture of baking powder, salt, flour, and sugar.

Brock walked in rubbing his eyes and gave out a loud laugh when he saw it.

"Oops" he said reaching for a washcloth.

The next few days went according to plan. During the day I trained with Ash, and shopped with Misty. And after everyone was asleep I took Brock's cooking class.

Day two he taught me how to make an omelet; day three was chicken noodle soup, day four was spaghetti, and by the end of the fifth day I had learned how to make one heck of a chicken enchilada.

* * *

Brock, Misty, and I were sitting in the living room, it was evening the next day and no one really felt like doing anything. Well, everyone except Ash that is. He came bursting into the room.

"Guys, Guys! I know what we can do tomorrow" he had a huge smile on his face and was holding a piece of paper.

We all looked at him lazily.

"And what might that be" Misty asked a little irritated.

Ash proudly held out the sheet of paper. "It's a tournament"

Sure enough there was a tournament in the next town over, for Pokémon trainers that were planning on entering the Indigo League.

"It's kind of like a warm up" he said.

"Sounds good to me" Brock said, while looking over the side of the couch for the remote.

"I bet that's because of all the Officer Jennys and Nurse Joys" Misty said with a sly smile. Brock whipped his head up and glared at her.

"No, I think it would be good practice for Ash that's all" he returned to his task of finding the remote.

Misty gave the back of his head a look and stood up to walk over to him. "We need to talk" she said, and grabbed him by the ear to drag him upstairs.

Ash and I chuckled and turned back to one another.

"So how about you White, would you like to come?"

"Sure, sounds fun".

"Good" he replied, content with my answer.

A few minutes later Brock and Misty reappeared. Misty looked a little giddy, and Brock was rubbing his sore ear. She sat down on the couch and looked at me, then at Brock, and giggled.

"Hey" he said pointing at her.

She covered her mouth and looked over to Ash, who looked just as confused as I was.

"Yeah I'll go" she said, regaining her composure.

That night Brock taught me how to make fried chicken. Holy crap was that scary. I'm not too awfully fond of dealing with hot oil when it could burn my face off. Brock thought it was hilarious that I stayed as far away from the fryer as possible, but didn't force me to get any closer. I did have to admit though, once I tasted the chicken, I was more eager to make it.

* * *

The next morning we set out towards the little Pokémon competition. It bothered Ash that I called it little, and he vowed to prove me wrong once we got there. He was right to some degree, it was a huge place, there just weren't very many trainers. So we called a tie on who was right.

We walked into the Pokémon center to get Ash checked in. We talked with Nurse Joy for a good ten minutes about how the competition worked, and the whole time Misty would stare at Brock, waiting for something, he would glare at her, and she would look away. Then she would stare at him again, and he would glare, and so on and so forth. I just watched, confused by the exchange.

We ate at some little diner and sized up the competition. There were only ten people entered, including Ash.

"This should be a cinch" Ash said gobbling down some soup.

Misty restrained herself from yelling at him, but not without effort.

The competition started at noon and ended at 4. And sure enough, Ash easily won. He was very proud of this fact, and marched all the way home with his little trophy in hand. He again didn't like that I called it little, but it was only about five inches high, and Misty and Brock took my side, so Ash eventually gave in to calling it petite.

After everyone was asleep Brock and I once again began his cooking class. The final day was an apple pie, one of my favorite foods. Brock said it was just a coincidence, but something told me I had mentioned it sometime in the past, and he took note.

We once again made a huge mess, since we had to make pie crust, and that involved using flour. After we cleaned up we sat down at the kitchen table to wait for it to come out of the oven. It smelled amazing.

"Thanks for teaching me how to cook some stuff Brock" I said not taking my eyes off the delicious looking pie I could see in the tiny oven window.

"No problem, hey, will you go upstairs and get me a bag?"

I looked over at him, "Why?"

"We have a ton of extra apples and we could probably use them when we are on the road, I should have a plastic bag in my backpack."

"Sure" I said, walking over to the stairs. After I climbed them I pushed open the guest bedroom door where we had all of our stuff. Somehow we were able to fit Brock, Misty, Ash and myself in Ash's old bedroom so we didn't have to use the guest one.

I pulled out Brock's backpack, but not without some trouble; that thing had to weigh almost a hundred pounds, I didn't know how Brock could carry it around with such ease. I rummaged through it.

Silverware, Sandwiches, Pokeballs, Pokémon food… more Pokémon food, clothes, water; I couldn't find this magical bag he was talking about. After about ten minutes I came across a small book. Curiosity got the best of me as I figured it held his recipe for his Pokémon food, but as soon as I opened it I realized it wasn't. It was a journal. The first page's date was almost one year ago, the day he met Ash and Misty and went out on his journey. I flipped till I saw a blank page and turned back to the page labeled for today. He had written it right after we had gotten back from the competition. I was shocked at what I read. He had some stuff about what Ash was like when he battles, some of it made me laugh, but when I reached the part about why Misty had taken him upstairs yesterday, my mouth opened slightly in surprise. In his neat handwriting I read…

_"__I finally told Misty. I had been trying to keep it a secret, especially from her, as she is quite the chatty Kathy, and the one that is always dragging me away from girls, not exactly towards them. She didn't seem as surprised as I thought she would when I said I liked White, but I guess I was being a little more obvious than I thought I was. Misty said she didn't think White knew, and I was a little relived, but not much. I kind of want to tell her, but I don't want to ruin our friendship in the meantime. Plus, with this N character I'm not really sure if she is… single, I guess that is the best word. _

_From the minute I met White I knew she was different. Usually when I meet girls I can turn on the charm, but with her, I just froze, and made a fool out of myself. Not only that, but when I see a Nurse Joy or an Officer Jenny, I don't feel anything anymore. And this past month and a half I have been having such a good time with White. I hope that sometime soon I can get enough courage, and that by some miracle she will feel the same."_

That was the end of the entry and right as I finished I heard the door open.

"Could you not find-" he stopped short when he saw what I had in my hands. I looked up at him. At first he looked angry, then he just looked embarrassed, and tried to avert his gaze absolutely anywhere but looking at me.

"Is this true Brock?" I asked. I couldn't say I had never thought of Brock in that way, but it only crossed my mind once, and I quickly brushed it off. He was just a friend, or so I thought.

Almost his whole face was red with a blush, and he nodded. He opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by a ring.

I looked over to my bag where my X-transceiver was buzzing. I expected to see N's number but instead Bianca's name was on the screen. My eyes widened, even with the time difference Bianca wouldn't be calling me this late unless it was important.

"Hold on, I gotta get this" I said to Brock giving him an apologetic look.

When I answered, and Bianca's face was on the screen I had a sinking feeling. She looked worried.

"What's wrong?" I asked, hesitant for the answer.

"You need to come back to Unova White" she said, in a monotone voice, something I had never heard come out of Bianca's mouth before.

"Why?"

"Well I don't exactly know why, Cheren told me to call you. He said that he was losing against Team Plasma, and he needed your help and fast if we planned on keeping them at bay. Plus if he loses the battle, they will take whoevers Pokémon are within arm's reach, and probably won't even stop there".

My thoughts began racing. If we couldn't keep beating them, they would take our Pokémon and everyone else's. If Cheren lost, his Pokémon would be gone. I panicked.

"Okay, I'll leave right now; I should be there in about 4 hours"

She nodded and hung up.

I threw my X-transceiver in my bag, along with the rest of my stuff that was lying on the floor. I swung my bag over my shoulder and started to walk out into the hallway when I realized Brock was still standing there, and we hadn't finished our conversation, or really started it either.

I put one hand on each of his shoulders.

"Listen I have to go, I will be back in time for the Indigo League, and we can talk then" I felt bad for doing this to Brock, and part of me wanted to stay and see what he had to say, but I knew I needed to go.

He nodded, looking sad. I felt really bad. So I resorted to what I figured he needed right now.

I gave him a small kiss on the cheek and disappeared down the hall.


	16. The Return

**So here is chapter 16. I kind of like it, I still don't know if I am happy with the wording, but ohwell.**

**Sorry it is so long, but a crap ton of things happen, so yeah.**

**I guess that is all.**

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 16: The Return**_

It was a long four hours to Unova. The first two I found myself still thinking about Brock. I did enjoy his company, but I still just thought of him as a friend. Then when I hit the halfway point I realized I might have to deal with N. There were mixed feelings that came with that fact. I wanted to hide from him, but my stomach still had butterflies in it at the mention of seeing N.

I passed through the gate to Unova. The same man who was obviously unhappy in his job was there to check my pass and let me in. I figured Nimbasa City would still be the place to find Bianca and Cheren, so I took the fifteen minute flight over there. Even though I hadn't gotten any sleep, and with the time difference it was daytime in Unova, I wasn't tired, there was too much to think about.

I landed in front of the battle subway and returned Sigilyph. We had made record time, Sigilyph was probably the fastest flying Pokémon I knew.

I looked around, wondering if they would be in the Pokémon center or somewhere else. That was when I heard a voice behind me.

"You" the voice slurred the word out angrily. I could tell it was aimed at me and I whipped around to see Ghetsis a couple of feet away. He was inches from my face in an instant. He put a fist on either side of my vest and lifted me off the ground. He looked absolutely furious, and I for a minute was afraid he would kill me right on the spot.

I looked at him wide eyed, too scared to say anything.

"What have you done to my son?" he yelled, his red eye looking back and forth to both of mine. I didn't know what his other one was doing because it was covered with its usual red rectangle. I also didn't know who is son was, and I definitely didn't do anything to him.

"I don't know who-" he cut me off.

"N, What have you done to him?"

I was stunned. N was Ghetsis' son? I guess that would explain the hair, but seriously, N, someone so calm and caring could come from Ghetsis? I was shocked.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked hesitantly.

"He isn't himself anymore, and I know it has something to do with you" he said the last word with disgust. I had noticed that N didn't look right when he left his messages, but I didn't know I had caused as much damage as it apparently had.

What I didn't know was that for the past month and a half N had almost always been in his room. A place he tried to avoid; but with the heartbreak he felt, it was comfort he wanted, and nothing gave it to him more than his childhood room. I didn't know how badly I had hurt N, and I wouldn't for a good time to come. I was the only one N had ever or would ever love, and I was the only person he had let in; he had let me get to know him, something he had never done before, or would ever do again.

"I-I" I stuttered not really sure what to say.

"White" I heard a voice from behind me.

Ghetsis looked over my shoulder, and dropped me. I landed on my feet and turned around to see Bianca and Cheren running towards me. I looked over my shoulder and saw Ghetsis had disappeared without a trace. I had to admit I was quite relieved.

"White you're back" Cheren said giving me a hug. He had never done this before and it was a bit awkward, but it felt kind of nice.

He pulled away, a small blush on his face, and it was Bianca's turn to embrace me.

"Guys" I said, expecting them to be more worried about Team Plasma than me, "what about Team Plasma, is everything okay?"

"Yeah, why?" Cheren asked.

I turned to Bianca, "You said it was an emergency, that Cheren was losing, and Team Plasma was going to take away people's Pokémon!"

She looked at her feet, "Yeah I guess I over exaggerated. Cheren has been battling Team Plasma on his own since you left, and the fights are getting awfully close, but they would have only taken his Pokémon, not everyone else's."

I was shocked; she called me all the way back to Unova to say Cheren was having a tough battle? I opened my mouth to start expressing how angry I was, but was interrupted by yet someone else calling my name.

"White".

But this time I knew who it was. My stomach did flips as I turned around to see the familiar face of N running towards me. When he reached me he grabbed my hands. "White where have you been? Are you okay?" he looked me up and down, making sure I hadn't lost any limbs.

Ghetsis was right; there was something wrong with N. He still looked tired, and sad. But it looked like all the life was sucked out of his eyes, the eyes that were always sparkling. His hair was a bit out of place, and he was slightly shaking.

"Yeah I'm fine" I said, still not sure if I wanted to talk to N yet.

"Where were you?" he asked again. N was always so calm and collected, and now he was anything but. His emotions were very visible.

"She won't tell _us,_ so I doubt she will tell _you_" Cheren answered in a derogatory tone.

N flashed an angry glace at Cheren. "Can you give us a minute" he growled through clenched teeth.

Cheren looked a bit scared and nodded to then walk away with Bianca reluctantly following.

"White, please let us-"

I cut him off, "N I don't know if I am really ready to address things with you" I said honestly looking up into his eyes.

"Just tell me what is-"

"N, please" I said, begging him to let go of my hands so I could walk away. I could tell this killed him but he didn't give up.

"White-"

"N please"

"I just-"

"N"

"Can't we-"

"N"

"Dammit White, I love you!" he said in a raised voice. This definitely silenced me. I stared up at him wide-eyed at his burst of emotion. "It has killed me every minute that you were gone, and we need to fix this right here and right now because I can't go on another day with you hating me like this."

His eyes were filled with tears, but he was holding them back best he could.

I was shocked and a little hurt at his statement. Why did he think I hated him? I disagreed with his values, but I liked _him_.

"I don't hate you N" I said in a whisper, my eyes now becoming blurry, I felt so bad that he felt that way.

He kneeled down and put his hands around my face, looking up at me.

"Tell me what's wrong so I can fix it".

I didn't like that he was the King of Team Plasma, but that wasn't what was getting me down, and it wasn't the fact that he wanted to liberate Pokémon. He was entitled to his opinions as much as I was entitled to mine. Why I was upset, was because Pokémon were going to be taken away.

"It's just that" I said, pausing trying to find the right words.

He nodded for me to go on, hope in his eyes.

"It's just that you are going to take away Pokémon and," I took a deep breath, "no one can stop you".

He looked a bit sad but his face reflected a smile after a few seconds of thought.

"So it's not because I am the King, or because of what I believe in?"

"No N, you have a right to your opinion" I said, realizing the conversation I had had in my head was now happening out loud.

He now had a huge grin on his face and I was confused.

"Well I can sort of fix that then" N said. I looked down at him, now a little optimistic.

"Ghetsis apparently didn't tell you the whole legend then. There wasn't just a white dragon; there was also a black one, who arose for a different hero. Both of them had differing opinions, and they had a battle to determine who's values and ideals were right." I listened intently, as he went on.

"Just like then there will be a hero for whom the black dragon will arise, they will have a differing opinion than I do, and I will fight that person, to see who's ideals are the truth."

At this I could have jumped for joy. There was in fact someone out there who could stop Team Plasma once and for all.

"Really?" I asked, making sure N wasn't just making this up.

"Yes, that is the truth" he said standing up and bringing his hands down from my face.

My smile was huge, and N grinned back, his eyes now becoming lighter.

"That's great" I said. I hesitated for a moment and then did what I had wanted to do since I saw N. I threw my arms around him in a tight hug. I had missed N so much, even if I tried not to admit it, and with the news I had just heard, I had to give him a hug.

I could tell he was surprised but after a moment his arms wrapped around me tightly, like he never wanted to let go.

After standing in that position for a couple of minutes I heard Cheren's sarcastic voice behind me again,

"Oh yay, everything is all hunky dory again"

I turned around and gave him a look that said 'be nice'.

He rolled his eyes but kept quiet.

"So what are you planning on doing now White?" Bianca asked.

In reality, I had no idea what I was going to do. I was planning on going back to Kanto for the Pokémon league, which was in a little over a week. I figured I should get back a few days before, so I could talk things out with Brock. Until then, I guess I would stay in Unova.

"Um, I guess I'm just going to stay here for a while, maybe challenge another gym".

Bianca, Cheren, and N looked a little happier that I wasn't planning on going back just yet, even though they didn't know exactly where I went in the first place. We all went to lunch at a café right next to the amusement park, which brought back both good and bad memories.

N and I had, after just a few hours, slipped back into our old routine, almost like nothing had changed.

It was weird though, having N around Bianca and Cheren; but he didn't seem to want to let me out of his sight so I kept quiet.

Cheren looked annoyed and gave him glares all through lunch. Bianca on the other hand thought it was great. She just loved relationships, and even though N and mine wasn't official, she took it that way. The whole time we ate lunch I don't think she took a breath. She asked N tons of questions, that of which he was visibly uncomfortable with, and I thought that was hilarious.

By the end of lunch I realized I seriously needed to have a talk with Bianca about how to act around N.

I decided to go over to the Pokémon center early. I hadn't gotten any sleep in two days and was exhausted, plus I figured I needed to do some training too.

Talace and Zebstrika no longer fit in a regular room in the Pokémon center. I felt bad not letting them out every night, but I didn't know if there was any alternative, but according to Nurse Joy there was.

"We actually have special rooms for trainers with big Pokémon. Usually they are used when there is a large group of people, but like I said, trainers often times use them too. They cost a little more but not too much." She said in a chipper tone.

From all the battles I had won I wasn't exactly short on money so I went ahead and rented one.

Bianca had gone back to Professor Juniper's for some reason; I think she was realizing she didn't really want to be a trainer as much as she wanted to be a Professor. Cheren had headed off to the gym to challenge Elesa, I think was her name. And N had….. I really didn't know where he had gone, but I told him I was fine, and he should go do something he wanted to do, though I had a feeling by the look on his face, he would be waiting in my room when I got there.

I walked down the hall, swinging the key around my finger, it took me a while but finally I found the room, and it was definitely not what I was expecting. What I had expected was a quaint room with a tall ceiling, but no. I got the mansion treatment. It had three rooms, two with beds that connected to the main room which had huge couches and a balcony with French doors. I widened my eyes. Everything was very clean, the couches and beds were white, and the carpets were tan. The bedrooms even had wood floors. I set my bag down on one of the couches, in the center of the main room.

"Wow" I said quietly to myself. It was about six o'clock, and since it was heading towards winter the sky was almost completely dark already. I peeked into the bedrooms, expecting N, and when I didn't see him, I shrugged my shoulders.

I walked into the small part of the main room which was considered the 'kitchen'. There was a small microwave and a mini-fridge; there were also cupboards that had silverware and plates in them. 'I could really get used to this' I thought to myself. Pokémon center rooms weren't usually too awfully nice, but this room was making an exception.

I pulled out a plate and went back to my bag to grab a sandwich. I had a weird feeling when I pulled it out; it was a sandwich Brock had made for me. I felt really really bad running off like that, I hoped he was okay.

Brock was okay, he was just really on edge for the week I was gone. He was constantly tapping his foot, and eagerly crossing the days off his calendar till the Pokémon league.

I chomped down on the sandwich and was immediately brought back to the fact of how good of a cook Brock was. I had almost finished my sandwich when Nurse Joy called my room.

"There is a man here to see you, he says his name is N"

I scrunched my eyebrows together; I wondered why N was going to the front desk.

"I'll be right there" I said taking another bite of my sandwich.

I walked down the hall, and peeked around the corner to see N awkwardly standing by the front desk, looking around. An injured Pokémon was wheeled on a stretcher next to him by a happy Chansey. He watched it intently and frowned. I knew he was listening to what the Chansey and injured Pokémon were saying. I kinda wondered what they were saying too, but pushed it out of my mind as I walked over to N.

N's face lit up when he saw me. My mouth was full so I motioned him to follow me. I walked him back to my room, and he looked as surprised as I had when he saw my large room.

"Wow I guess you really upgraded" N said, sitting down on one of the couches.

I swallowed my last bite, "Yeah, my Pokémon are getting bigger so I figured they needed more room". I put my plate into the sink and looked over to N. He still looked a little worried and tired, but for the most part he was back to looking like the N I used to know.

I walked over and sat on the couch across from the one N was sitting on. I rummaged around in my bag and put all of my Pokémon's pokeballs on the table. I seriously needed to organize my bag, I had found and picked up a lot of random crap, and it was all just thrown in there. It was a miracle I could find my Pokémon as easily as I did.

N was upset that we weren't talking so he tried to start a conversation.

"I had a good time at lunch today"

I laughed, "Sorry about Bianca, it takes a while to get used to"….. I waved my hand around trying to find the right word, "her".

He chuckled, "it's fine, though I don't think Cheren is too fond of me" he said, a small frown on his face.

"Yeah, I'm not really sure why he acts that way around you" I said, carefully placing all my potions and cures in a line on the glass coffee table.

I honestly didn't know why Cheren didn't like N, though I guess it is probably because N is the head of Team Plasma, and I didn't blame him if that was the reason.

"You don't have to hang around them you know" I said, smiling at how uncomfortable lunch had been.

"No, I wanted to have lunch with you, and I would like to get to know your friends as well" he said, watching me pile things onto the table.

I smiled, happy he wanted to get to know Cheren and Bianca; I looked up to see that the life was almost completely back in his eyes now, and he looked happy again.

"N, can I ask you a question" I said, now suddenly remembering my small scary chat with Ghetsis.

"Anything" he said reassuringly. He took off his hat and stretched his arm across the back of the couch he was sitting on.

I thought for a moment about what exactly to ask, and decided to get straight to the point.

"Is Ghetsis your father?"

He coughed, surprised by my question. I looked up to see his eyes had gotten wide and now it was his turn to try and bring together the best thing to say.

"Uh, yeah, he is" he said clearing his throat, "what made you ask that?"

I shrugged, "earlier today Ghetsis approached me, and kinda said you were his son" I said, organizing my TMs in their case. I was trying to make the conversation casual, and it seemed to be working to some degree.

N shot forward towards the table and put his hands face down on it. "You talked to Father?" he looked worried. Whenever N had talked about Ghetsis, it seemed a bit awkward when he said his name, and now that I realized he usually called him father, I knew why.

"What else did he say?" N asked, eager for an answer.

"That was pretty much it" I answered, starting to put things back in my bag now.

N looked at me skeptically, "And everything is fine?" Ghetsis was a scary man and I think N, even as his son, took notice of that.

"Yeah" I said, "Its actually kinda neat to know who your dad is" I said with a smile showing through in my voice, "no matter how….. unique, Ghetsis is".

N laughed out loud at this, and relaxed, to lean back on the couch again.

I looked up at him, "Why did you go to the front desk, I thought you were past the point of being worried about breaking and entering".

He chuckled, "Well you are in a different room, and I couldn't for the life of me find which one."

I looked a little worried, "You didn't like…. barge in on other trainers, did you?"

"No, after a while I just resorted to being old fashioned" he said a wide grin on his face.

By now I had everything back in my bag except my Pokémon. I figured I should probably let them out. Venipede, Darumaka, Tranquill, Sigilyph, and Zebstrika seemed to really like the room and the space it offered. I always saved Talace for last; mostly because he was now so huge when he came out of his ball with the others, he sometimes landed on one of them, and I tried to avoid that.

I tossed his ball up in the air and he appeared. He looked around a little confused, but after a second seemed at home, that was until he saw N.

He roared and it shook the whole room. He blew a ton of smoke out his nose and started slowly stomping towards N. I just realized that the last time I talked to Talace about N, was right after I was so upset with him; and Talace became so mad he evolved, it probably would have been a good choice to brief Talace on the current situation, but it was too late now.

N stood up, facing Talace head on, with his hands up in defense. Talace still had a steady stream of roars and grunts coming out and N was squinting at my giant Pokémon.

"I can't hear you when you talk that fast" N partially yelled at Talace.

I was once again baffled at the fact that N could talk to Pokémon, I didn't think I would ever get used to it.

Talace's stream of growls slowed some but weren't any less powerful.

"I can't hear you if you are yelling that loud either" N half shouted, obviously listening very carefully.

Talace's volume went down but not by much. N listened for a bit then his eyes widened, finally figuring out why Talace was mad. He looked over to me.

"Could you leave the room for a second White, we need to talk" he said motioning to the giant Emboar standing over him.

"I don't know" I said, a little worried for both of their health.

Talace looked back at me and nodded, and after a second, I agreed, and stepped out into the hallway. Once I had closed the door behind me the racket continued. I could barely hear N's voice over Talace's constant grunts and roars, and I definitely couldn't hear what he was saying, which made me more ill at ease than I already was.

It wasn't Talace I was worried about; he could take care of himself. N on the other hand... he could get his lights punched out permanently by Talace, in under a second. The floor shook and I could tell Talace was walking. I cringed, waiting for a loud crash or bang, or something that signaled the end, but it didn't come. I just heard N and Talace yelling at each other. Finally after about ten minutes, it quieted.

"You can come back in White" I heard N say in an exhausted voice.

I hesitantly opened the door to peek in. N was still in one piece, and Talace was still standing, his arms now crossed. I shut the door behind me.

"Everything okay?" I asked looking back and forth to both of their faces.

N sighed, "Yeah, but you could have warned me about that" he said gesturing to Talace.

He huffed a ball of smoke and looked the other way, still not happy with N, but not as angry anymore. N plopped down on the couch, obviously worn out, and I noticed his hands were black. I squinted and realized Talace must have done that. I looked to Talace.

"So do you forgive him?" I asked.

He snorted. I looked to N for translation.

"He wants to hear it from you that you forgave me" he said as he leaned his head back on the couch, eyes closed.

I turned back to Talace. "Yes, I forgave him earlier today."

My Pokémon looked a bit surprised, he grunted, and I once again looked to N, who looked a bit unhappy now.

"He wants to know how, after all the stuff I told you, and how you felt that day, that you can_ still_ forgive me"

I contemplated. "Well, when you care about someone you have to have a little compromise" I explained, "And in our case, we agreed to disagree".

I had to admit I was silently condemning myself for how quickly I forgave N.

Talace looked at the ground, then back to me, and gave out a series of snorts and grunts. N opened his eyes a crack.

"Can I summarize that?"

Talace growled and gave him a look.

"He wants to know why, despite any feelings that you have, that you could forgive the King of Team Plasma, the organization that goes against what you two believe, and are trying to overthrow"

I smiled and walked towards Talace.

"There is someone who can stop them though, we don't know who, but there _is_ someone" I said reassuringly, "and with that knowledge, I am able to forgive him, because all hope isn't lost".

I couldn't really put into words why I had forgiven N, but that was my best shot. I looked up at Talace, he looked a little more at ease, but I could see that having the man that headed Team Plasma, and had hurt me just a few weeks ago in the same room was really bothering him.

"You don't have to forgive him" I said, "You just have to tolerate him, because I _did_ forgive"

Talace grunted. N chuckled, his eyes still closed.

"He wants to know if I will be around very often"

N looked a little curious at my answer, because it would answer the question of how _much_ I had forgiven him.

"Yeah, he will be around like he was before" I answered.

N looked content, and Talace looked a little rigid, but happy that I seemed to be happy.

Talace nodded, and I could tell he was willing to go along with being nice to N as long as I wanted him to. I smiled and wrapped my arms around my Emboar. Talace gently patted me on the back.

"Thank you Talace" I said, and I realized I wasn't just thanking him for going along with what I said, but also for protecting me, and caring about me as much as he did. He was like a guardian, whenever I was unhappy, he would sit with me. Whenever I was scared, he would be there to comfort me, and it was pretty darn comforting to have an Emboar there if you were scared.

Talace nodded and went to sit on the side of the room, behind my couch, and closed his eyes to drift off to sleep. I was also exhausted, and I could tell after that ordeal N was too.

"I think I am going to go to bed" I said with a yawn. At this N shoved off of the couch ready to follow me. When I was in the bedroom I brushed my hair and in the mirror again saw N's charcoal black hands. I turned around and grabbed one of them.

"What happened" I asked, "he didn't burn you did he?"

N laughed, "No, but if you get in the way of one of his smoke balls, they can… stain" he said.

He walked off into the bathroom to wash his hands.

"I didn't know he was _that_ protective of you" N said, sort of as an afterthought when he was drying his hands.

I nodded; "Just since he evolved" I walked over to the nightstand and laid out my clothes for the next day.

N sat down on the bed, and after a minute of contemplation on my part, gave in to sitting in his arms once again. N sighed, obviously happy with my choice.

I could tell he was really tired, but he managed to stay awake until I fell asleep. It was comforting sitting in his arms, and I fell asleep rather quickly.

I didn't want to let N off the hook so easily, but after slipping back into how it used to be, it was kind of hard not to.


	17. Lazy Days

**So here is da 17th chapter. Yes I just said da. Deal with it. Anyway. This is kind of a lazy chapter, hence the name; but I still figure it is a little bit important to the story line. I just realized how long this story is going to be if I am already on chapter 17, and so I apologize, somehow I lost track of time. Hopefully I will still have readers when we hit the higher chapters, haha. **

**Thanks to anyone who is reading this, and I hope you enjoy! :)**

**ps. Thank you for all the kind reviews, follows, and favs, it really means alot! :)**

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**_Chapter 17: Lazy Days_**

I woke up the next morning and rolled over to see N was gone. I hadn't expected this because since I had come back he was exceptionally clingy, but I figured it would wear off eventually. I sat up and rubbed my eyes, I thought it was weird the sun wasn't shining through the curtains. I walked over and opened them up to see it was grey outside. I frowned, why was it so dark this early in the morning? I peeked over at the clock to see it said five, but what surprised me was that it said PM.

I dashed into the living room and saw N lazily browsing the channels on the TV, sitting on the couch.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" I asked, in a loud voice.

He jumped and peered over the back of the couch, "I figured you could use some sleep" he said, looking a little scared by my yelling.

I hadn't slept in two days, and after a moment of thought, figured I could use the extra sleep. I sighed and walked over to plop down on the couch next to him. He put his arm around me and I laid my head on his shoulder. It immediately felt weird to do this with anyone but Brock and I lifted my head off his shoulder again. For about an hour we watched some show about this girl who had lost her Pokémon, and by the end she found it, and she was really happy.

I wanted to say 'see, look how happy both her and her Squirtle are to be back together again' to try and prove N wrong, but decided against it. I looked around the room, now trying to find all my Pokémon. Darumaka and Venipede were curled up on the floor, using the drapes as blankets since they hung down so low. Tranquill had nestled down on a chair much too small for him and had his head tucked under his wing. Zebstrika was laying with all four legs tucked under him in the corner close to where my bedroom door was, and Sigilyph was sitting on the other side of the door, in an odd position, sleeping. I guessed my Pokémon were as tired as I was. Then I felt a surge of panic.

"Where's Talace?" I asked, worried as I quickly stood up.

"He is in the other bedroom, he still isn't comfortable being in the same room as me, and he didn't want to wake you up either."

I pushed open the other bedroom's door and saw Talace sitting on the floor, looking bored. When he saw me he grunted and smiled.

"Hey, how are you doing?" I asked. By the look on his face I could tell he was doing fine, as long as it didn't involve N. I sat on the edge of the bed, now almost even with him height wise since he was on the floor.

"Listen I'm sorry about all of that last night" I said.

Talace shook his head, saying I didn't need to apologize. He gave out some grunts. I frowned; it was frustrating not knowing what Talace was saying, even if I picked up on way more than when I had just gotten him. He snorted again and patted the floor next to him.

I sat down. Talace was like a family member, and he really did feel like my big brother, always there to help and protect me. I was an only child, but I figured that was what it felt like anyway.

He grunted again; and again I frowned, not able to understand him.

"He wants to know if you would like to do some training" I heard N call from the other room.

Talace roared, obviously upset that N was listening in.

"Sorry, I'll butt out" N said, and I could hear the smile in his voice.

Talace looked over at me, questioning. I nodded, if I was going to get anything done today, I better do it fast, as the sky was rapidly getting darker.

After I changed, I walked into the main room where Talace was waiting, pushed up against the wall as far away from N as possible. I chuckled to myself.

"Alright you ready?" I asked, and Talace grunted. I looked to my other Pokémon who were just starting to wake up. "Sigilyph would you like to join us?" I asked. The symbol Pokémon looked overjoyed at the invitation. I had decided that Sigilyph was a good addition to my final team, plus he was more than capable of flying me around to different regions.

"I'll be back in a bit" I said to N. He looked a bit worried.

"Be careful"

"I will" I said while shoving out the door.

Within a couple of minutes I was outside the Pokémon center in a small field. It was a little dim, but I could still easily see.

"Okay guys, Talace you are weak to both Psychic and Flying types, and Sigilyph here is both" I said putting a hand on Sigilyph. Talace looked irritated that I said he was weak to something but he kept listening.

"So, I want to work on your speed first, just try and dodge his moves".

Talace had incredible speed already, but how I saw it, Pokémon couldn't be fast enough when it came to battling. Talace stood about twenty feet away and I stood side by side with Sigilyph.

"Alright Sigilyph, air cutter"

Sigilyph flew up high and let out a high pitched noise as he thrusted his version of wings forward. Bright blue crescent shaped gusts of air plummeted towards Talace. He moved at a speed I had never seen before, and I could see him giving me a sly glance as he did so as if saying, 'I'm not weak to anything, I don't know what you are talking about'. I smiled.

"Keep it up Sigilyph" I figured I should be training them both so this time I directed my command at Sigilyph. "If you bring back your wings a little further you can put more force on the move."

He did what I said, and the crescents picked up some serious speed, and after just a few dodges, it hit Talace head on. He growled as he stood back up.

"Nicely done Sigilyph" I said, and he chirped happily back at me. Talace did not like not getting all of the praise and he stomped on the ground, waiting for his turn to attack. Talace liked attacking, he hated when we practiced almost anything else. I smiled, knowing that Sigilyph was probably the only Pokémon who had the speed to doge Talace's attacks.

"Alright then, Sigilyph you practice dodging Talace's attacks" he nodded and flew a little lower, so he could see my Emboar better.

"Alright Talace, flamethrower" before I even had the command out Talace had a powerful blast of flames bursting out his nose towards Sigilyph.

The flying Pokémon whizzed this way and that, blurring as he dodged the fire.

Talace was getting angry and I smiled, knowing he was going to put out some serious power now. His flamethrower tripled in size and struck Sigilyph. There wasn't really anywhere the symbol Pokémon could go. Sigilyph weakly flapped his wings, lowering himself to the ground. Talace was so strong, that even Sigilyph, my second strongest, was almost knocked out with one hit.

"Great job Sigilyph, take a good long rest" I returned him to his ball and shoved it into my pocket.

Talace looked a bit happy, and I had to admit, when Sigilyph's air cutter move hit Talace head on, a special attack, Sigilyph's specialty, it had hardly left a mark on him. Talace was definitely a lot stronger than I had realized.

"Okay, what would you like to do next?" I asked. Talace snorted out a small flame ball, no doubt saying attacks. I laughed. For the next hour we worked on his attacks, and by the end he was extremely accurate and even more powerful, something I didn't honestly know was possible.

I walked back into the Pokémon center, gave Nurse Joy Sigilyph, and walked back to my room. To my surprise N had food laid out on the table. He looked extremely happy when I walked in the room.

"So how was training?" he asked, his eyes flicking back to Talace, but landing on me.

"It was great" I said, happy that both of my Pokémon were getting stronger.

"Good. I went ahead and took the liberty to pick up some food at the cafeteria for dinner".

"Thanks N" I said, walking over to my bag to pull out some Pokémon food so my Pokémon could have dinner with us. The cans I pulled out once again reminded me of Brock, he had given me some Pokémon food so when I did go back to Unova I would have some; but he definitely didn't figure it would have been that soon.

Within minutes all of my Pokémon, except Sigilyph that was, were chowing down on the delicious food.

I sat down on the couch next to N and put some food on my plate. Talace watched us carefully as we ate, at times blowing puffs of smoke, letting me know he wasn't happy with me being that close to N. I watched as Darumaka got up and walked over to Talace, obviously intrigued by the balls of smoke coming out of his nose. Talace noticed and started making them bigger, then smaller, then bigger again. Darumaka was overjoyed and tried to make smoke balls of his own. I had trained some with Darumaka in Kanto, but not yet in Unova. His moves were pretty powerful, but ironically he had some trouble getting his fire attacks going. After a while he was puffing out some small balls of smoke and seemed delighted at this fact, dancing around happily.

I walked over and picked him up.

"Blowing smoke balls is pretty fun, huh"

He nodded, agreeing with the biggest smile I had ever seen on a Pokémon, and then he flashed white. I knew what was happening but I didn't know what to do. I had never had a Pokémon evolve while I was touching it, let alone holding it. I just froze.

"White, I would put him down if I were you" I heard N say in a calm but concerned voice.

I gently placed the white blob on the ground just in time for it to start to grow. Pretty soon I had a large creature, a Darmanitan, standing in front of me. I stared, wide eyed.

"Great job" I said, feeling like a proud mother.

He grunted and slammed a fist on the floor, making the plates jump off the table momentarily to then land back on the table with a loud crash. He looked very proud of himself, and quietly went back over to his food bowl to start eating again, but when he passed Talace, he successfully blew a huge sphere of smoke.

I walked over and sat back down next to N. He looked a little dazed, and was staring at Darmanitan.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, uh, it's just, I used to kind of have a Darmanitan" he brought his gaze back to me.

"Cool" I said, taking another bite of a delicious bowl of soup. "By the way, where is Zorua?"

"Oh!" N said digging a pokeball out of his pocket, he then let Zorua out.

The small Pokémon looked a bit worried but calmed down quickly to sit on a pillow on the floor with his bushy tail wrapped tightly around him. N pulled out some Pokémon food of his own and put it in a bowl in front of Zorua, who quickly began eating it.

"Why don't you let your other Pokémon out too, they could probably use some fresh air" I said, with my mouth a little bit full.

"I don't have any other Pokémon" N replied calmly.

I coughed, "Seriously?"

He chuckled, "Yep Zorua's the only one"

I raised my eyebrows. That was something I sure hadn't expected.

"But I thought you had a Purloin" I said, confused.

"I let it go free" N replied.

This weirdly enough didn't surprise me. I guess I figured N let Pokémon go all the time, and this wasn't any different.

We finished dinner and I had the plates cleaned by ten. My Pokémon, including Talace were all starting to doze off. I was a bit worried Darmanitan would set the curtains on fire with his new extremely fiery eyebrows, but figured he would be careful. Talace was pretty talented when it came to the flames around his neck. He had gotten to a point where he could actually turn it on and off at will.

I walked around the room, saying goodnight to all of my Pokémon individually. I turned to walk into the bedroom and realized N was leaning against the doorframe.

"You really do love your Pokémon, don't you" he said, already knowing the answer.

"Of course I do, I would do anything for them" I said, passing him to get into the room. N quietly shut the door. I brushed my hair again and laid down on the bed, on top of the covers just looking at the ceiling. I couldn't believe that Darumaka had evolved, and I couldn't believe how strong both Talace and Sigilyph were. Speaking of Sigilyph, I hoped he was alright, and figured Nurse Joy would call me, letting me know he was just fine in the morning.

N laid down on the other side of the bed, also looking at the ceiling. N had tried to keep his distance since I had gotten back. He was afraid he would cross a line I think, and I thought that was sweet that he was making sure I was comfortable. I sighed and rolled over to put my head on his chest.

He drew in a breath, surprised, but almost immediately relaxed and put his hand on my shoulder. Since I had forgiven him he acted like he was still walking on broken glass, like at any minute I would yell at him to go away, and he was careful to not trigger that in any way.

I laughed quietly. I brought my hand up and started playing with his necklace. It still was fascinating to me, and I had never touched it before, so I carefully examined it.

"Thank you for understanding" I heard N say. I scrunched my eyebrows together, not really comprehending his statement.

"What do you mean?" I asked, tilting my head up to look at him.

"I mean with the whole Team Plasma thing, and respecting my beliefs, it really means a lot to me" he said, his eyes showing what he was saying.

I smiled, "No problem, I just wish you would stop being so careful around me"

"What do you mean careful?" he asked, raising one eyebrow.

"I mean, you don't have to baby me, you can act like you did before….." I said, looking down, "I went on my little vacation"

N smiled, "Okay, note taken". He said chuckling.

I could tell it still bothered him that I hadn't told him where I went, but he still hadn't asked, and I didn't want to bring it up. I heard a small patter and saw a shadow under the door. Little whines followed, along with a scratching sound, and N tilted his head towards the door.

"Is everything alright Zorua?"

More whimpers.

"Don't worry, I'm sleeping in here tonight, but you can sleep out there with White's Pokémon"

The scratching stopped and the shadow disappeared.

I wondered what Zorua had said.

"He was worried that the door was shut, and wanted to know if I was alright" N answered the question I was thinking in my head.

"You two seem pretty close" I said, tinkering with his necklace again.

N sighed, "Yeah, I guess you could say he was my first Pokémon".

I smiled, the bond you had with your first Pokémon couldn't be surpassed. But the one N had with Zorua was special, and I could tell.

"How can you talk to Pokémon?" I asked N. A question I had asked a while back, but wanted to hear another answer.

"Well, like I said, it just came naturally" he paused, "I kind of grew up around Pokémon, and speaking their language wasn't just easier to me, but more fun, they have such neat things to say, and it is very enjoyable talking to them".

I sighed, I bet it would be fun to talk to Pokémon, I had to admit I was a bit jealous. I asked another question that was on my mind, completely off topic, but I had been meaning to ask him.

"So when did you become the king of Team Plasma?" I asked.

N was surprised by this question and his eyes widened, "Well, I was crowned actually just a couple of days before I met you" he said, reminiscing.

I smiled, "So what are you called, like King N" I said, making fun of the title.

He chuckled, "Actually they call me Lord N"

I laughed. It felt weird to think of N as a king, I still could barely picture it.

"Well except for Father, he just calls me N" he said, chuckling at the idea of his father calling him Lord.

"So Lord N huh," I paused, "What is your last name?"

N had askedme so many questions since we met that I had hardly found out anything about him.

"Harmonia" he answered.

"That's a pretty name" I said out loud, "N Harmonia, is N short for something?"

I had wondered this since I met him; surely his name wasn't just N.

He laughed, "N is short for Natural"

I raised my eyebrows, that was still an odd name, but I liked it.

"Natural Harmonia, I kind of like that" I said smiling and adjusting my head on his chest.

"You can call me Natural if you would like" he said.

"No, I still prefer N," I replied.

"Good" he said, sighing, "I don't like it when people call me Natural" he shuddered a bit when he said the name.

I giggled.

"So what is it like to be a king?" I asked.

He thought for a moment before he answered, "It is different alright. I don't stay in Team Plasma's…" he stopped.

I looked up at him, wondering what had him tripped up.

"I don't stay around Team Plasma that much, so it isn't like a normal… king. But it is kind of cool having the respect of your people, enough so that they do what you say."

"So do you like….. have a thrown?"

He let out a loud laugh, "Yes, I have a thrown"

"Cool, do you have a crown?"

"Yes I do" he was finding our conversation very amusing.

"So what is Ghetsis then, was he the former king?"

N paused, "Not exactly, he was just the leader. Now he is the leader of the Seven Sages".

I looked up at him with a questioning expression.

"They are kind of like my advisers" he explained.

I nodded, wow N really was like royalty, I still couldn't quite believe it though, that N, was a King. I yawned, and N could tell I was getting close to falling asleep.

He kissed the top of my head. "Goodnight White"

I smiled, "Goodnight, Lord N" I said jokingly.

He laughed and switched off the lamp.


	18. The Fourth Badge Battle

**So here is chapter 18. I am taking it back to Kanto in chapter 19, so that shall be tomorrow. I am trying to put a chapter up every day of the week, and then write a crap-ton on the weekend, but I am falling a bit behind, so next week might not have as much.**

**Who knows, and sorry for the ramblings, I tend to do that.**

**Anyway, enjoy! :)**

**ps. again thanks for all the lovely reviews, favs, and follows, they are what keeps me alive :P**

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_**Chapter 18: The Fourth Badge Battle**_

I woke up the next morning to realize N and I were in the same position we had fallen asleep in. I liked it when he stayed the night, and I smiled. I shifted my gaze up, without moving my head and realized N was already awake, looking at the ceiling, deep in thought. I stretched one of my legs straight and he looked down at me.

"Good morning love"

I smiled, "Good morning N"

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The next four days were rather routine. N and I talked, we had fun with our Pokémon, but most of the time I was training. And on the morning of my sixth day back in Unova I realized I was ready to challenge my next gym. I had gotten up, gotten dressed, and trained some with Talace all before eight, abnormally early for me.

"Alright I am going to challenge the gym" I said. It felt weird to say something like that so calmly, like I was saying I was going to the grocery store, or to gas up the car.

"Good luck White" N said, leaning over and kissing me on the cheek.

N and I had stayed in that room for the five days, and not once did he leave, he was definitely still worried about _me_ leaving again, and so he didn't take the chance that I would go while he was away.

I walked to the eastern edge of town, past the Ferris wheel, that of which I still couldn't decide if it brought back good or bad memories. I took a deep breath and walked into the gym. My eyes widened, it was a huge place with what looked to be a rollercoaster in the middle. I looked down and gasped when I realized the floors were perfectly clear, and I couldn't see the bottom of the building beneath them, it was just black abyss. I walked carefully, but the floor seemed sturdy enough, so after a few steps I was getting used to it.

"Hi there" the man I met at the beginning of every gym greeted me. "You look surprised. Yup this gym is built around a giant rollercoaster, pretty cool huh" I nodded, I had to admit it was pretty neat. He handed me a bottle of water, and motioned to someone. Pretty soon a rollercoaster car was sitting in front of me, the top opened so I could climb in. I was hesitant and slowly lowered myself into it. It snapped shut the instant I was inside, and jolted forward, pushing me back against my seat. There wasn't a seatbelt and I found myself going straight up. I grabbed anything I could before I hit the top of the hill, and just like I had expected, plummeted downward. After a couple of minutes being scared speechless by the twists and turns the car came to a stop and opened again. I climbed out, very grateful to be on land again. I was breathing hard and had my hands on my knees when I realized someone was standing in front of me, I looked up to see a tall slender blonde woman looking a bit amused. She looked like she could be a model.

"You aren't too dizzy from the speed are you?" she was amused but asked with real concern. I straightened up and put on a bold face, shaking my head to let her know I was fine.

"Good, I'm Elesa the leader of the Nimbasa City gym. So if you didn't get dizzy with that ride, allow my Pokémon to do it instead" with that she called out her Pokémon.

"Emolga, go" and a small flying Pokémon emerged. I figured by the way the gym looked that she was an electric type gym leader, and sure enough I was right.

"Alright Talace, let's go" and my Emboar was out and ready to go in an instant.

"Quick attack Emolga" she called and the small Pokémon whizzed to hit Talace before I even had time to call a move.

I was shocked, apparently I wasn't going to win this battle with speed.

"Alright Talace flamethrower, and make it speedy" Talace's flame echoed my command, bursting out quickly to strike the Emolga before Elesa had a chance to call out anything either. The only difference between the attacks was that Talace didn't look phased by the other Pokémon's attack, and the Emolga was out cold.

"Return, Emolga go"

I thought maybe she had called the wrong name, but sure enough another Emolga appeared.

"Ariel Ace" called Elesa and the small electric Pokémon did a backflip in the air to come spiraling down at Talace.

"Arm thrust" I called. Talace got a punch on the Emolga, and it spun the small thing to the ground and skidded into the wall.

"Volt switch" Elesa called. The small Emolga let out a weak electrical attack which Talace easily shook off, and was returned to its ball, without Elesa doing anything.

"Zebstrika, let's go" and the large electric zebra that I knew would appear was standing in front of her. No doubt her strongest, but I knew how a Zebstrika acted in battle, since I had one of my own.

"Talace, arm thrust and aim for the back legs" he did as I said and got a firm hit on the Zebstrika's hind quarters. It didn't do as much damage as a regular arm thrust would have, and I could tell Elesa was confused by this, but I knew what I was doing.

"Quick attack Zebstrika" she called, the Pokémon started to run towards Talace but had to stop mid step, and stand still again. All of Zebstrika's power came from the hind legs and the muscle there, with Talace landing a hit, the Pokémon was too sore to push off with any speed in mind at all.

Elesa looked worried.

"Alright, we will attack from here then. Spark"

The Zebstrika whinnied and its body started to glow yellow, and after just a moment a large ball of electricity came hurdling towards Talace. I knew this couldn't be avoided so I decided to defend with offense.

"Talace arm thrust" he slammed his fist into the ball of electricity as soon as it was in arms reach, for a moment nothing happened, we all stood watching, Talace not wavering, and the ball still zapping with electricity.

Then a large boom as the two powers finally decided that they were equally matched.

I grinned, "Alright Talace, flamethrower" The smoke still hadn't cleared, and nothing was visible yet, but I knew Talace could see through it. As a fire Pokémon, smoke doesn't obstruct his vision much. A powerful blast of flames flew through the wall of smoke and I waited for the outcome. Finally the smoke cleared and the Zebstrika was lying on the ground, easily knocked out.

"Zebstrika return, let's try this again Emolga" she called, and out popped the same Emolga, panting. I felt bad that I had to battle the poor thing when it was already on the verge of collapsing.

"Talace flame charge, but make it a little less powerful" I said the last part under my breath.

Talace had heard it though, and flames shot out of his nose, though not as big as usual.

"Dodge" Elesa called, but she already knew it was over. The little thing couldn't get out of the way in time and soon lay on the ground, looking identical to Zebstrika and the other Emolga before him.

"Return" Elesa said, obviously disappointed, but she still had a smile on her face. "I was planning on dizzying you but you dazzled me instead". She walked over to me and held out my badge.

"The Bolt badge, proof of your win at the Nimbasa Gym".

I smiled and took the badge, "Thanks". She nodded and snapped her fingers. Pretty soon another rollercoaster cart appeared and she motioned for me to get in. I reluctantly did, but before the door closed she addressed me.

"Are you planning on going to Driftveil City soon?" she asked, putting her hand on top of the car.

"Um, I'm planning on going there, but not too awfully soon" I answered.

She nodded, "Listen, when you are ready to go, just let me know and I can help you get there"

I quietly nodded and she tapped twice on the roof before my door closed. I held on for dear life again, but this time the ride was leisurely, and fun.

I got off, and exited the gym, to be blinded by the bright sun. I shielded my eyes; it had been so dark in there that my eyes were now having troubles adjusting. Finally they did though, and I took a long stroll through the city. I looked at all the cool things in the amusement park, I checked out the sports fields, and the theatre. I wanted to look at the battle subway, but decided against it as I figured it would be a place that I loved, since I like battling, and if so I probably wouldn't leave until someone dragged me out by the hair.

Finally I returned to the Pokémon center. I slowly walked to the room; I was having a rather calm day, and was taking advantage of it. I realized I would have to tell N that I was leaving tomorrow though, and that made me uptight, but it was still the morning, and it could wait till tonight. I opened the door and N was basically where I had left him, sitting on the couch. When he saw me he looked overjoyed and turned off the TV.

"So how did your gym battle go?" he asked, a wide grin on his face.

"I got my fourth badge" I said happily, setting my bag down on the floor.

His smile got even bigger and he jumped up to run over and encircle his arms around my waist; lifting me off the ground and turning in a circle.

"That's great"

I laughed and after a few more circles he put me back down on the ground. I looked up and realized his face had suddenly gotten serious and he was staring intently into my eyes. He put one hand on my face and leaned in. My heart started racing as I knew what was coming. N and I hadn't kissed again since the Ferris wheel and I had to admit, I was looking forward to it. Right before his lips hit mine a loud sound rang throughout the room. I jumped and looked over to the table where N's X-transceiver was buzzing, slowly moving across the glass table, threatening to fall off.

N hadn't moved though.

"Shouldn't you get that?" I asked looking up at him. Neither of us wanted him to, but we knew he should.

He growled and let his hand down from my face to walk over and pick it up.

"Hello" he said in a slightly irritated voice, but his face changed in an instant when he saw who was on the screen. I was just far enough away to not be able to hear whoever it was, but I could hear N just fine.

"I'm sorry father"

Some buzzes and I could hear Ghetsis was talking, but I still couldn't make out what he was saying.

"But-" N was cut off.

"And-" he was cut off again.

"Its-" "Just-" "Can-" Ghetsis didn't really let N get a word in.

I heard that Ghetsis' voice had gone from talking to yelling.

N sighed in defeat, "Yes father"

Something else was said.

"Yes father, I'll be right there"

He hung up and walked over to me.

"Listen I have to go" he looked sad.

"Why?" I asked, confused as to what their conversation had been about.

"It's tough work being king" he said with a smile returning to his face, and he again wrapped his arms around my waist. He looked over his shoulder at a sleeping Zorua.

"Listen will you look after him? I will be back in a few hours."

I nodded, it wasn't a problem at all, plus I really liked Zorua.

"Thanks" he said and leaned down to kiss me on the cheek, but his lips partially overlapped onto mine, and I blushed.

He walked to the door. "Bye sweetheart" he said, giving me a charismatic smile, and shut the door behind him.

For the next couple of hours I sat reading a book while all the Pokémon were either playing around, eating, or sleeping. Zorua on the other hand had stayed asleep the whole time. I looked up from my book now and again to make sure he was still breathing. Finally after a couple minutes of contemplating whether or not to wake him up to make sure he was still in fact alive, he woke up on his own.

He yawned and looked over to the couch, and when he didn't see N he suddenly looked a little panicked. He looked to me and gave off some whines.

"Don't worry, N will be back soon, he had to take care of some stuff" I said smiling at the small Pokémon. Zorua seemed happy with my answer and hopped up on the couch next to me, also looking at my book. After a while of him pretending to be interested he rubbed his head on my shoulder, asking for some petting. I stroked his head, and he let off a low sound, almost like a purr. I smiled, I really did like Zorua and I was glad he seemed to like me. Talace was sitting in the corner fast asleep, but if he had been awake I knew he would have been a bit jealous of the attention I was giving to Zorua. After a few minutes of petting the small dark fox, he shoved past my book to curl up in my lap and promptly fall back asleep. I was shocked, but extremely happy. Zorua felt comforted by my presence, and confirmed my theory of him liking me. After about another half hour I heard the door handle turn. I looked up to see N quietly opening the door. He walked in and smiled.

"I'm back" he said with a grin.

"How did everything go?" I asked.

"Fine" he replied and started walking towards me. He stopped, eyes wide, and looked down at me.

I waited for him to say something but he didn't. He just pointed to a sleeping Zorua in my lap. Apparently he hadn't seen this when he walked in the door, but he definitely did now and looked like he could fall over in shock.

"What?" I asked, a little confused as to why he was so surprised.

N kneeled down in front of me, still watching the sleeping Zorua.

"He never trusts anyone except for me, let alone sits in their lap" his eyes still held shock, now looking into mine.

I set down my book beside me and looked down at Zorua. "A while after you left he finally woke up, and he looked a little worried at first, but after a while, snuggled down here" I said motioning to where he was laying.

I looked back up just in time to see N moving quickly towards me. In an instant his lips were crushed against mine, pushing me back against the sofa, his hand wrapped around my face. My eyes widened at the sudden surge of affection but I relaxed and gave into it quickly. Zorua yipped and jumped off my lap, so he wouldn't get squished. Before I could really start to enjoy the kiss I felt a gust of hot air hit my face and pulled away to see Talace standing about a foot to my right, looking very angry.

"What was that for?" N asked, a tiny bit irritated. I looked over at him and burst out laughing. I now saw that the hot air had in fact been one of Talace's smoke balls, and it had hit N right in the face, to turn half of it pitch black. N looked confused as I doubled over with laughter.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"Go….. look…. In the mirror" I said between gasps of laughter. He stood up and walked over to a small square mirror that was hanging on the wall. The minute he saw himself he slowly started laughing too. I walked over to the mirror to realize that Talace had strategically planned his attack, and my face was perfectly clean. N turned to me and smiled at my utter enjoyment of the black ash. I brought my finger up to his cheek and wrote 'wash me'.

He chuckled, "I'm not a car, White" his eyes sparkling at the sound of my laughter.

I stuck my tongue out at him.

* * *

After N had taken a shower his face was back to normal. I was going to scold Talace, but it was so enjoyable I decided not to. We ate dinner and watched a movie, and then it was time for bed. I took my shower, all the while thinking of how I could bring up the subject that I was going back to Kanto tomorrow. I put on my pajamas and walked into the bedroom where N was lying on the bed, looking at the ceiling. I sat down and brushed out my wet hair. I looked over to see he was watching me intently.

"I can't believe Zorua sat in your lap" he said, watching the brush go up and down, up and down. "That was really neat."

I could tell it was a big deal to him, but I couldn't quite place why. 'Well' I thought, 'if Talace began to like N I think I would be pretty darn happy too'. I had realized a couple of hours ago that was why he kissed me so abruptly. It was like Zorua had given his permission for us to be together, and N was elated at that fact. I chuckled at the thought.

"What's so funny?" N asked. I shook my head and walked over to sit on the bed, my knees tucked under me.

"Listen N, I have to tell you something."

He could tell something was wrong, and he sat up too.

"Um…." I started, trying to figure out my wording, but finally just blurted it out. "I'm going back to Kanto tomorrow".

"What? Back to Kanto?" a confused look covered his face.

I then realized he didn't know I had been to Kanto in the first place.

"That's where I went for that month and a half" I explained. I looked up at N to assess his reaction, but his face was blank.

I waited and finally it turned to reflect a bit of panic.

"What? Why? What did I do wrong?" he asked, hurt in his eyes.

"No, nothing" I said putting both hands around his face. He still looked a bit panicked and he was breathing fast.

"I made some friends there, and I promised I would be back in time to watch one of them compete in the Indigo League".

N looked a little calmer at this.

"So that's the _only_ reason you're going back?"

I nodded. Though this wasn't completely true, I was also going back to talk to Brock, but that didn't involve N at the moment so I left it out.

He relaxed, but the sad look stayed on his face. I could tell that he was hurt that I was leaving, and he still wasn't completely convinced that it didn't have to do with him.

"Please don't go, can't you wait another couple of days?"

It sounded like a small child asking their parent to stay who was going away on a business trip.

"The Indigo League starts day after tomorrow" I said.

N looked even sadder at this. My heart dropped and I felt bad. I still had his face in my hands and went on a whim. I pulled him towards me and softly pressed my lips against his. N was obviously surprised, as this was the first kiss I had initiated. He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me in closer, starting to add more passion to the kiss. I got lightheaded almost immediately; this was the first one since I had gotten back that wasn't interrupted. I pulled away after less than a second, the kiss was quite brief, and N seemed irritated at this fact, but I wanted to tell him something.

"N, I love you, and I promise I will be back soon."

I couldn't believe those words had come out of my mouth. I meant them, but still, I couldn't believe that I had actually said them.

He brushed a strand of my hair away from my face, looking a little happier.

"I love you too White"

We just sat there for a while, not talking, but N finally broke the silence.

"So what time are you leaving?"

"I figured I would go after an early lunch so I would get to Kanto around… dinner time" my mouth started watering at the thought of Brock's cooking.

"Okay" N said in defeat. I could tell he had given in and I was glad.

"Will you actually answer your X-transceiver if I call this time?" he asked, a hint of a smile on his face.

I chuckled, "Yes, I will answer it whenever you call"

"Good" he seemed a lot happier now, and laid down flat on the bed.

I shivered; it was getting quite cold to only be wearing a tank top and pants.

"Are you cold love? Would you like a blanket?" N asked. I found it weird how he acted like my every need was a command for him to get or fix.

"I just need to crawl in" I said lifting up the covers and snuggling down under them.

He smiled and tucked them in around me. He rolled over on his side so he was looking at me. His green hair was hanging slightly over his shoulder, and he looked very handsome in this position.

"Just promise me you will come back" he said this with a smile, but I could tell he was quite serious on the inside.

I smiled, "I will N" and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. I leaned back to see he had a blush covering his face, and he tried to hide it.

I giggled.

He climbed under the covers and I laid my head on his chest again.

"Goodnight White" he said wrapping his arm around me.

"Goodnight N"

And I saw the light had clicked off.


	19. The Indigo League

**So here is Chapter 19, the return to Kanto. I have had this chapter sitting on my computer for about a week and a half, and I have changed the wording about a bazillion times, and I'm still not sure if I am happy with it. Ohwell, I hope it suffices. **

**Yay, Brock is back, and out of the friend zone, oops, spoiler... haha**

**Anyway, enjoy! :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 19: The Indigo League**_

I found myself flying once again on Sigilyph. I looked down at my X-transceiver and saw it was around eleven o'clock. I would make it to Kanto at about six, just in time for dinner. I set my arms on top of Sigilyph and laid down my chin. Sigilyph was an oddly shaped Pokémon, but somehow I fit like a puzzle piece on top of him.

N and I had had a reluctant goodbye, well more reluctant for him than for me. The man that always checked my pass was quite irritated that it took him so long to say goodbye.

Finally after about five hours I saw Kanto in the distance. I had planned on getting here a few days ago, but had gotten distracted with N and gym battles and whatnot, so I would be at the Indigo Plateau the night before the competition started. It didn't give Brock and I much time to talk, but I figured we both could miss out on a little sleep. About a half hour later I was landing next to the Pokémon center. I had a feeling that was where Brock, Misty, and Ash would be, trying to check into the competitors village. I returned Sigilyph and walked through the sliding glass doors to see what I expected, well almost. Ash and Misty were standing in front of Nurse Joy, trying to get their room key, and Brock, well it shocked me a bit.

"-but not at beautiful as you, would you like to get dinner sometime, perhaps talk about this more?" I had only heard the tail end of Brock's sentence, but I knew that he was in fact flirting with Nurse Joy. I had mixed feelings about this. Good for Brock, that he was getting himself back out there, I mean, I had resolved my issues with N, and I was going to have a hard time breaking that to him, so this made it easier. But at the same time, I was kind of hurt, that he had moved on from me to Nurse Joy so quickly. I decided to act like everything was fine, because it was, I think. I watched as Misty grabbed Brock by the ear.

"Come on Romeo" she said tugging him away.

"Ow, not the ear" Brock cringed and followed her, I chuckled to myself.

Ash caught a glimpse of me out of the corner of his eye and turned around.

"White! You're here! I didn't think you were going to make it in time!"

I smiled and walked over to him. Misty ran up and gave me a hug, obviously happy she wasn't stuck being the only girl anymore. Brock still had his back facing me and slowly turned around, looking embarrassed. I could tell he wondered if I had heard what he said to Nurse Joy, but I just gave him a smile, pretending I hadn't.

"Anyway, here is your room key to the trainer's village" Nurse Joy said happily handing Ash the key. He thanked her and it was a quiet walk to where we would be staying. Once we were there Ash informed me of all that had happened since I had left. He had trained some more, gotten really strong, saved the torch that held the flame for the competition, and had actually lit the flame himself. I had missed the opening ceremonies and I was a bit sad, but the important part was that I was here to see Ash compete. After a while Ash finally told me about what would be happening tomorrow. He was paired with someone named Mandi and they would be battling on the water field. It would be the first round out of three before he would be able to compete in the main stadium; and they were operating on a single loss elimination system, a lot of pressure for a trainer.

"So White, what Pokémon do you think I should use?" Ash asked, contemplating.

"WHAT?" Misty shrieked, "So you ask her, but won't take any advice from me…. a water Pokémon trainer?"

I laughed, "Ash, just use whatever Pokémon you have a gut feeling about".

He nodded, I think I am going to go with Squirtle, Pikachu, and…" he paused, "I think I will ask Professor Oak for my Krabby too."

"But you haven't ever battled with Krabby" Misty said, a bit shocked at his decision.

"Hey, it's my gut feeling" Ash said, obviously taking my words to heart.

Ash, Misty, and I talked for a while. Brock was sitting a few feet away, and had hardly said a word by the time everyone was going to bed. I stayed around as I figured we needed to talk. Brock watched as Ash and Misty shut their doors and then turned to me.

"Listen, I don't know if you heard what I said to Nurse Joy but-"

I cut him off, "It's okay Brock, I'm glad you have….. moved on" I said with a weird look on my face. This statement was a bit true, I was glad, but at the same time I was devastated that he didn't feel the same way anymore.

"Misty already warned me that you can be a bit of a…" I paused, feeling silly at saying the next word "player".

Brock chuckled, but I could tell he was really sad.

"Listen" he said.

I put my hand on his shoulder, "It's okay Brock, you don't need to explain."

I gave him a weak smile, and he shook his head. "Yes I do".

I stayed quiet this time, letting him explain himself.

"The only reason I was flirting with her was… I was trying to save myself the heartbreak"

I gave him a confused look.

"Oh please," he said, looking up at me, "You and N patched things up didn't you?"

I nodded.

"See, I knew you were going to come back and let me down slowly, and I was trying to put myself back out there before you had the chance." He looked like he might start crying but he didn't.

I felt really bad, but at the same time I was a bit happy. He _did_ still like me, and for some reason that made me very glad.

"Brock, I still want to talk about it though"

A shocked look overtook his face. "But you're with N"

"I know" I said, giving him a slight smile.

I didn't know if I liked Brock, I had been trying to figure that out for the week and a half I was gone, but still hadn't come up with an answer. I wanted to see how this conversation went with Brock first, since N and I didn't technically have anything official, and decide how I felt about Brock after that.

I walked over and pulled out the small leather journal that he kept in his bag, the one that had told me how he felt. I sat down in front of him and put the book between us.

"So, let's go back to our conversation when I just found this." I said smiling.

He smiled too, and nodded.

"Is it true Brock?" I asked the same question as I had when I found it, but this time I was mocking my question a bit.

He chuckled and nodded.

"So you do still like me?" I asked, still kind of making fun of my question, but a bit of seriousness showing through.

"Yes White" Brock said with a smile threatening to overtake his face.

I looked down and he looked a bit worried. "I don't know what to say Brock" this time I was serious, and I had to admit, I _didn't_ know what to say.

He lifted my face up with the tips of his fingers. He did this a bit awkwardly and I could tell he was very nervous, and didn't want to cross any lines.

"Do you feel the same?" he questioned, his voice shaking.

"I-" I stopped and really thought it through. "I really don't know Brock" I could tell he didn't know what to say, and so I finally blurted out exactly how I felt.

"I don't know how I feel about you yet Brock. I know we are really good friends, and I am worried if we take it any further we could lose that. But I still kind of want to." I paused, and he listened intently. "It would be simpler if that was all, but then there is N." I looked up at Brock to see he had a frown on his face at the mention of N.

"I love him Brock" I said, my voice quivering, "And I don't want to do anything to hurt either one of you." My sentences were starting to not make much sense but I could tell Brock understood. I liked him, but I also loved N. And in the end, love won out.

"But N and my…." I paused, "Whatever we have, isn't official, so I mean we could give it a try" I said motioning to Brock and then myself with a slight smile.

I kind of wanted to try it out with Brock, kind of like a pair of shoes, and if they didn't fit, I could return them, and get the old ones back, meaning Brock and my friendship.

But I had a weird feeling that it would be hard for Brock and I to return to just friends if so, and I really didn't want to jeopardize that.

Brock at that moment tuned into the caring and understanding side that he has. He pulled me into his lap for a hug. I hugged him back and sniffled a bit, trying not to cry.

"It's okay White," he said stroking my hair. "I understand. And if you want to just stay friends" he paused, "that's okay with me"

I could tell it really wasn't okay with him but he was willing to do whatever was necessary to still have a relationship with me, even if it was just as friends. With that he had answered my question. I would stick with the old shoes, not getting the new ones, not even picking them up. That made me a bit sad, but I realized it was probably what was best.

I climbed back out of his lap and sat down again. "Thank you for understanding Brock" I said, wiping away a stray tear.

"No problem" he said with a half-smile.

* * *

The next afternoon was when Ash would have his first battle. In the morning we trained, and had some of Brock's delicious cooking, and after that we trained some more. Ash hadn't really gotten much time with Krabby, and that worried Misty to no end, but Ash seemed confident. We met Ash's competition, Mandi, and he was a real snob. He was some sort of magician who had an ego as big as the sun.

"Beat him Ash" Misty whispered.

Ash nodded, suddenly very pumped.

Brock and I had slipped back to how things had been easily, it was naturally easy for Brock and I to be close friends. We walked Ash out to the battle field. Ash was shaking like a leaf and I patted him on the back.

"No need to be nervous" I said, "Your Pokémon pick up on that, and they will start to be nervous too, so be careful".

He shook himself, clearing his thoughts. He looked a little more confident, but was still shaking a bit.

"Stop shaking so much Ash" Misty said, worried about his nerves.

"Speaking of shaking" Brock said, "I could really go for a chocolate shake"

Misty facepalmed.

Pretty soon we heard the voice over the loud speaker.

_"__And now on the water field, we have Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town, and a crowd favorite, Mandi". _

Ash walked out onto the platform and smiled. Brock, Misty, and I sat on a bench behind him.

"Krabby let's go" Ash called.

Misty gasped, and then growled. "He is making a mistake" she warned to no one in particular.

Krabby was up against an Exeggutor. For a while, both trainers called attacks, none of which really hit or made much damage.

"Krabby jump underwater" Ash yelled.

"Exeggutor confusion" Mandi called. The water started to swirl around Krabby, and soon he wasn't able to move because the water was going so fast, spinning him around in circles.

"Ash, call him back" Misty yelled. By now all three of us were really into the match. Me especially, I got too overly invested in watching other people's matches, and right now, I was really high strung.

"Krabby, return" Ash called, but the wall of water that had been created was acting as a barrier, and Ash couldn't call him back. I gasped, my heart rate sky rocketing and leaned forward, trying to see better. Ash somehow made a huge comeback and managed to knock out the Exeggutor. As Krabby flashed a bright white and evolved into a Kingler, it just added to the suspense. After that Ash easily beat Mandi's Seadra, and we all waited in suspense to see the last Pokémon.

Brock made an odd sound, and I had realized he hadn't really moved for the last couple of minutes. I looked over to him to see he was looking down; I followed his gaze to our hands, which somehow were intertwined. I realized when the suspense had gotten so high I must have grabbed onto his hand, and he was still in shock. My eyes widened and he looked up at me. I think we both realized in that moment that I had decided to go ahead and try the new shoes, and I could tell Brock was overjoyed. Sometimes it was what you do without knowing, that shows how you truly feel.

I smiled and adjusted my hand in his. Brocks face suddenly had the widest grin I had ever seen, and we were brought out of our little happy bubble by Mandi's voice.

"Golbat go"

Ash easily knocked out the Golbat with a hyper beam, and before we knew it, he had won his first match.

"Yes!" Ash exclaimed, pumping a fist into the air and started laughing uncontrollably. He ran over and hugged his newly evolved Kingler, much to the referee's dismay.

We walked back to our room and Ash collapsed onto the couch.

"Whew, that was awesome" he said, lying on his back, his hat still turned backwards.

"Don't get too cocky, you still have a long ways to go" Misty said, sitting in a chair.

"Hey, is anyone else hungry?" Ash asked.

"I'm starving" Misty answered.

Brock and I hadn't really said much, I think we were both a little embarrassed, and didn't really know how to start things off with each other. By what Misty had said, Brock may be a charmer, but he was very inexperienced when it came to having girls like him back.

We all decided to go to a little diner down the road that offered free dinner to anyone who was there for the Indigo League. We sat down at a booth and Ash immediately began snarfing down a few plates of food. Misty looked irritated as she ripped off a piece of her sandwich. Brock and I were sitting next to each other. He was very rigid, and was careful not to sit too far away or too close to me. I smiled to myself as I took ahold of his hand, which was sitting on the booth.

"Relax Brock, I won't bite"

He looked up at me, and I could tell I had officially broken the ice. He chuckled and squeezed my hand. Misty looked back and forth from Brock's face to mine, a little confused by our interaction, and started laughing when she finally realized what had happened. Brock shot her a glare and she covered her mouth, quieting her laugh. Ash continued to eat, completely oblivious to all of this.

* * *

A couple hours later I found myself sitting on the couch with Brock. I had my head on his shoulder and he had wrapped his arm around me. Misty had intently watched us all night, like she was observing animals in the wild, careful not to miss a minute, or spook one of us. Ash sat on the other side of me, watching TV, looking quite bored. He was still oblivious to anything that was or had happened between Brock and I.

I turned to Ash, "So you have both your second _and _third round battles tomorrow?"

He nodded, starting to again shake just at the mention of battling.

"And you better get some sleep if you plan on winning" Misty said, sounding like an insistent mother.

"Alright, alright" Ash complied as he switched off the TV and retired for the night.

Misty reluctantly followed, walking at a record slow pace to her room.

Brock and I stayed quiet for a while, before he broke the silence.

"Thank you for giving me a chance"

I scrunched my eyebrows together; he should have to _thank_ me for that. I decided not to answer, as it was a partially rhetorical question. I adjusted my head on his shoulder and smiled. He looked down at me.

"You have beautiful eyes, White" he said, lifting his hand up to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear.

I blushed and looked down. He chuckled.

We sat in silence for about fifteen minutes before I spoke up this time.

"I should probably be getting to bed" I said, yawning.

He nodded, and we both stood up. He looked down at me with a caring expression.

"Goodnight, White" he said, smiling.

"Goodnight, Brock" I said, lifting myself a few inches up to give him a peck on the cheek.

I walked to my room, peeking back over my shoulder to see Brock with a dazed look on his face, his hand brought up to the spot on his cheek where my lips had touched.

I closed my door and changed into my pajamas. I lowered myself into bed, snuggling into the comfy sheets when my X-transceiver rang. I had made a point of lowering the volume on that thing as it was extremely loud, and I was certain it hadn't woken anyone up.

I looked down and saw N's name. I grabbed it and quickly answered the call.

"Hello" I said, a little hushed as not to make a racket.

N looked relieved when I answered. I knew he didn't exactly believe me when I said I would answer his calls and he was glad I _had_ in fact been telling the truth.

"Hi White, I didn't wake you up did I?" he asked, taking notice that my head was on a pillow.

"No I had just climbed in" I answered.

"So" he said with a smile, "how did it go today?"

"I had a great time, and Ash won his first match" I said with a smile.

"Good" N looked pleased. I couldn't tell where he was, behind him was just a plain wall made out of white bricks, and I couldn't think of a single place that could be.

"Well I won't keep you awake" he said with the usual sparkles in his eyes. "I just wanted to make sure everything was going okay".

"Yeah, everything is fine" I said with a smile. It was so nice to see N, I had missed him more than I realized over the past day and a half.

"Alright, well I will let you get to sleep" he said, looking a bit sad at our shortened conversation. He looked down, and then back to me, "So you will answer if I call again tomorrow?"

I nodded and lightly laughed, "Yes N I promise I will answer." He seemed content at this and nodded to himself.

"Alright then, Goodnight sweetheart"

My heart melted when he called me that and it took a few seconds before I formed a sentence.

"Goodnight N" and with that we both hung up. I put my X-transceiver back on the ground and snuggled down to pull the covers up over my head.

It was weird; when I was with N, he was the only thing in my world, even when talking to him on the phone. But when I wasn't with him because I was in Kanto, the feelings for Brock slowly flooded back, and N was the one taking the backseat. I realized then that I did in fact care for Brock as much more than a friend, I wouldn't say I loved him, but definitely more than a friend.


	20. An Offer I Can Resist

**So here is Chapter 20. It has alot of starts and stops, but I am trying to cram a lot of stuff into it. I kind of made the thing with Giovanni sound like it is going to be a big deal, it really isn't, it's just a minor thing that is going to happen in the future.**

**Anwyay, thanks to anyone who is reading this! You guys are awesome!**

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 20: An Offer I Can Resist**_

I woke up the next morning to the smell of pancakes. Needless to say I got out of bed at a record pace and dashed into the kitchen. Ash and Misty were at the table, impatiently waiting for Brock to get done cooking. I slowly walked forward and peeked over Brock's shoulder at the sizzling batter.

"Looks good" I said, smiling.

Brock jumped a bit but smiled at me. I giggled and kissed him on the cheek, which rendered a bright red blush from him. I looked back to the table to see Ash looking a bit confused.

"When did all of that happen?" he asked Misty, gesturing to me and Brock.

Misty shook her head, "Man Ash you are oblivious".

"Hey" he said, a little bit offended, "Well, didn't you say that she was with some guy who had a weird name?"

"Oh yeah," Misty said suddenly remembering something, "White, I thought you and N were a thing, not you and Brock".

My eyes widened and I shot an unhappy look at Brock who was now feverishly stirring batter. I hadn't told anyone but him about N, and apparently he had told Misty, and she had told Ash.

"Brock" I quietly hissed, now a bit upset with him.

He gave me an apologetic look, "Sorry, but Misty has ways of getting people to spill" he said, bringing his hand up to his ear, remembering the pain.

I shook my head and sat down next to Misty.

"Soooooo" Misty started, leaning closer to me, "Who is this N guy? What is he like? Is he good looking? I bet he looks better than Brock."

"Hey" Brock said, turning around, now offended. Misty lifted her hands up in defense.

I chuckled, "I don't know if now is the best time to talk about it." I said with a smile. I knew sometime in the future Misty would coax information about N out of me, but it wouldn't be today.

"Alright" Brock said turning around with a large stack of pancakes on a plate, "breakfast is served".

He placed it down on the table and sat next to me. We immediately started eating, and man was it good.

"So is this N guy as good of a cook as I am?" Brock asked, trying to get something in his favor.

"Nope, when it comes to cooking you win" I said stuffing my face with another bite of pancakes.

"Hah" he said, pointing at Misty, "A point in my favor".

She rolled her eyes.

* * *

Ash easily won his first battle of the day. His next one wasn't until four and it was only ten in the morning now.

"Hey White, would you like to battle?" he asked.

I was sitting at the table reading my book on Pokémon, I gave him a glance.

"Do you want to get creamed again?" I asked, giving a sly smile.

Both Brock and Misty laughed and when Ash shot them glares they tried to muffle it, but didn't succeed much.

"You won't have a chance this time" Ash said, "I have gotten a lot better you know".

"Okay, if you insist" I said shutting my book and stretching.

A few minutes later we were standing out in a grassy area, ready to go.

"Alright this will be a match between Ash and White." Brock put emphasis on my name and gave me a wink. "Each trainer will use one Pokémon, the first to knock out the others' Pokémon wins. Begin!"

"Let's go Sigilyph" I called. I could feel Talace's pokeball shake, and knew he wasn't happy with me for using a different Pokémon. I had to admit I was a bit nervous. I had never really officially battled with any Pokémon other than Talace, but I figured Sigilyph was a good place to start.

"Go Pidgeotto" Ash called and a large bird flew out.

"So it will be a flying match then, this should be fun" I said smirking a bit.

"Pidgeotto whirlwind attack" Ash called and the bird flapped its wings to create quite a gust.

"Air cutter" I called and Sigilyph's blue crescent shaped attack collided with the whirlwind. They were evenly matched and neither Pokémon gained any ground.

"Alright, Psybeam" I called, and Sigilyph sent out a colorful beam.

"Dodge with quick attack" Ash called, and the Pidgeotto dodged the attack with grace to start hurdling towards Sigilyph. I didn't worry when it came to dodging moves; Sigilyph was the pro at that.

"Dodge and use Air cutter again" I said, Sigilyph whizzed out of the way and the blue shapes flew towards Pidgeotto.

"Gust" Ash called and again the attacks were evenly matched.

I now knew that Pidgeotto knew gust, whirlwind, and quick attack. I also knew from past experiences that he knew tackle, so I knew his full moveset.

I had trained a lot with Sigilyph in Unova, and had learned he was a very pliable Pokémon. I was able to teach him two moves by TM that I knew would come in handy.

"Flash Canon" I called.

"What?" I heard Misty say, and I could see Brock and Ash's mouths were open. It was always a surprise when a Pokémon knew a move that was completely different from what you would expect, and that factor was what I had been counting on.

Sigilyph quickly formed a silver ball in front of him and chucked it to hit the Pidgeotto. It exploded on impact and the bird was sent flying to the ground.

"Air cutter" I called. The extra force of the air cutter piling onto the momentum already created by Pidgeotto falling slammed the bird into the ground with incredible force, leaving a hole in the ground.

"Come on Pidgeotto, get up" Ash called, and the flying Pokémon shook while it tried to stand up.

"Psybeam Sigilyph" I called, and the colored beam struck the Pokémon down, not to get back up.

"Pidgeotto is unable to battle; the victory goes to White and Sigilyph"

I smiled and hugged the symbol Pokémon. "You were great, you have some real skills." He chirped in agreement and happiness before I returned him.

"You have some real talent there" I heard a deep voice say. I looked over to see a tall man walking towards us.

Ash chuckled, "Aw shucks"

The man laughed and passed Ash to stand in front of me.

"I would like to speak with _you_" the man said, looking down at me. He was very handsome, with bold features and dark hair. He was wearing a dark black suit, and had his hands tucked into his pockets. He walked past me, and I figured I didn't have much of a choice now.

I gave Brock an apologetic look and ran to catch up to the man.

"Where are you from?" he asked.

"Uh, Unova" I answered.

He nodded, "I expected such, with the Pokémon you used."

I stayed quiet, wondering why he wanted to talk with me.

"You have some real talent" he again said.

"Uh, thanks. I guess" I said, not really sure how to act. By now we were out of sight of my friends and he turned to me.

"Have you ever considered doing something with that talent?" he questioned, lifting one of his eyebrows.

I gave him a confused look, "Like what?"

He smiled; this was obviously the answer he had been waiting for.

"I would like to suggest you join an elite group of trainers that have an immense amount of power" he said this with a devilish grin, and I wasn't sure he was telling the truth. I was getting steadily more uncomfortable by the minute.

"What group?" I asked.

"Team Rocket" he answered.

I almost laughed. The only time I ever had to deal with Team Rocket it had been a piece of cake to send them flying.

"They do _not_ have an immense amount of power" I said, a smile showing through.

He looked upset, "Okay I will attest to that if you agree to join. You know, you would be able to get a lot of Pokémon that way". He was trying to be convincing but it really wasn't working.

I suddenly turned angry. "Stealing is the _worst_ way to get Pokémon, I would never even consider joining." I said angrily and stomped back off to where Ash, Misty, and Brock were.

I heard the man mumble something like, 'fine suit yourself, you will regret it' as I was walking away but disregarded it. In reality I shouldn't have, because the man I had spoken to was in fact Giovanni, the head of Team Rocket, even though I didn't know it, and since I had rejected his offer, he had much worse plans for me and my Pokémon now.

* * *

Brock, Misty, Ash and I made our way over at around three for Ash's second battle of the day, but third battle overall. Brock was very unnerved by that man, and had stayed close for the past few hours, never taking his eyes off of me.

We approached the stadium to hear a chorus of wails. Gary's red convertible was sitting out front with a plethora of crying females in the back. Ash walked up to where Gary was getting in the car and asked what had happened.

"Oh, I lost my third battle" he said, like he was saying he had lost a penny, or a scrap of paper.

"Oh wow" Ash said, now intimidated by the task of winning his own third round.

"Meh, the trainer got lucky" Gary said, waving his hand and climbing into the car. "Bye loser" he said as they sped off. The girls were still crying and it took a while before their deafening wails couldn't be heard.

"Wow, if I cried every time Ash lost, I would have literally cried a waterfall" Misty said, now a bit deep in thought.

"Hey, I thought you were supposed to be supportive" Ash said, putting his hands on his hips.

* * *

An hour later it was the last round of Ash's match. He had beaten his opponents' first two Pokémon with only his Bulbasaur. But she had made an amazing comeback and knocked out not only Bulbasaur, but also Pikachu with just a Bellsprout.

"Wow that is one strong Bellsprout" Misty commented.

I was on the edge of my seat, and again had my hand intertwined with Brock's. I could tell he would do anything to have me hold his hand, but now he looked like he was doubting it as I was squeezing it so hard.

"Go Muk" Ash called.

Muk proved to be a good choice against the powerful Bellsprout. Every attack it made, simply bounced off of Muk, and with a well-timed body slam, the Bellsprout was out cold.

"Alright!" Ash, Misty, Brock, and I yelled all at once, even though we were sitting in the stands this time.

"Great job Ash!" we heard a woman yell from beside us. Sure enough Ash's mom was standing a few feet away, over exaggerating her wave to her son. Professor Oak walked up beside her and greeted us. Before we knew it Ash had made his way up to stand with us, and was asking if we had seen how amazing he was out there.

"Oh Ash, I am so proud of you, I am going to make you your favorite dinner tonight!" his mom said, pointing a finger in the air.

Ash started jumping for joy, and I could tell his day just couldn't get any better.

* * *

A couple of hours later I found myself looking at a huge meal spread out on the table. Everything smelled amazing, and I couldn't wait to dig in.

"Alright everyone" Ash's mom said in a sing-songy tone, "Dinner is served!"

I took one bite and knew why this was Ash's favorite.

"This is amazing!" We all said at once.

"Brock, this woman is the only one who might beat you out at cooking" I said pointing to Mrs. Ketchum.

Brock smiled but looked a bit jealous.

The rest of the day flew by and before we knew it, it was nighttime. Ash had made a new friend named Richie, and they were like two Pokémon crazed peas in a pod. We were just getting ready to go back to our room when we heard an announcement over the loud speakers.

"_Can I have everyone's attention please? All trainers competing in the Indigo League must undergo a mandatory check on their Pokémon". _

A van flew by and we followed it.

"I never heard about a mandatory check on Pokémon" Misty remarked as we walked to where the van was now parked. A man and a woman were walking around, collecting pokeballs and soon made their way to Ash. He hesitantly put his Pokémon's pokeballs inside.

"And we will just take your Pikachu" the woman said, happily lifting the small yellow Pokémon off of his shoulder.

"Pika" Pikachu said, and promptly zapped the woman, who then stuffed him into a bag.

"Well, that wasn't so hard was it James" she said, her glasses tilted to the side from the shock.

"Wait, did you just call him James? Who are you people?" Misty questioned.

The two officials started quivering a bit. "We must" they both said.

"Prepare for trouble" the woman said and took off her glasses.

"And make it double" said the man ripping off a fake mustache.

'Oh great' I thought, 'it is the infamous Team Rocket'. I shook my head when I thought of the man who thought I would ever even consider joining them. By now I had missed some of the motto and was brought back out of my thoughts by a jacket flying past my face.

"Jessie" she said, now having taken off her disguise.

"James" he said, mimicking her.

"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight"

"Meowth, that's right, now let's get going" the Meowth said looking panicked.

"Wheezing, smoke screen" James called and the Pokémon sent out a cloud of smoke.

We all started coughing and before we knew it Team Rocket was gone. When it cleared a rose floated down from the sky to land in my hand. I was very confused but Brock was just plain angry at the small flower. He grabbed the rose and threw it away, the whole time mumbling angrily to himself. I had no idea what was wrong and was brought back to the current situation by Ash's voice.

"C'mon we can't just let them take our Pokémon"

"Right" the boy named Richie said and they both started running after the small puff of fumes that was still lingering in the air.

"Wait" Misty called but stopped after only a few seconds of running. Ash may be small but that child could sure run fast.

"Listen, it's no use going after them tonight" Brock said, looking up at the dark sky. "Ash knows what he is doing, I'm sure they will be fine, and we can go looking in the morning."

Misty nodded and we headed back to our room.

I had to admit while Brock and Misty seemed fine with the fact that Ash was out there, I wasn't. He wasn't very smart when it came to making quick decisions. But I felt a little better when I realized Richie was there, a kid who was really advanced for his age.

Misty went to bed early, and I was left again sitting on the couch with Brock. We were quiet for a minute, just watching a muted TV. I had my head on his shoulder and my legs lying over his lap; and once again he had his arm around me.

"I hope Ash is okay" I said absentmindedly.

"Oh yeah, Ash is pretty good at taking care of himself" Brock said, rubbing my shoulder to comfort me. I lifted my head and looked at him.

"What was up with that rose today, I mean, why were you so angry?"

He tensed up and started breathing a little harder. "That James guy always has a rose, and no doubt he was giving it to you"

"Hah, that's cool, so it's like his trademark." I had totally disregarded the fact the rose was aimed for me, I mean come on, he was part of Team Rocket, Brock would be insane if he was jealous of James.

Brock was unamused, and my eyes widened at the realization he _was_ in fact jealous.

I started laughing and Brock gave me a confused look.

"You are actually jealous of James?" I said, still lightly laughing.

He pouted a bit, letting me know that the answer to my question was in fact a yes.

"Awww" I said. I thought it was cute that Brock was so jealous. "Believe me; you have nothing to worry about when it comes to James, Brock" I said putting one of my hands around his face.

He looked a little relieved and started chuckling too.

I gave him a kiss on the cheek and laid my head back on his shoulder, bringing my hand back down. I felt a little bit of heat and realized he was blushing again. I smiled.

That night we watched a movie and I had apparently fallen asleep on the couch with Brock because when I woke up in the morning we were in the same position.

"AWWWWWWW" I heard Misty say in an extremely loud voice, waking both of us up with a jolt.

"Jeez Misty," Brock said, putting his hand over his now pounding heart. Misty flipped on the lights which were blinding since I had just been asleep a few seconds ago.

I grumbled and hid my face in Brock's neck. He chuckled and stroked my hair.

We went out early in search of Ash and found him within a half hour, with all of the pokeballs and Pikachu intact. It was a pretty busy day. Ash went to find out who is fourth round battle partner would be, and much to his dismay it was Richie. Ash seemed a bit depressed but spent the day training, as he wasn't going to go down without a fight.

I had just gotten out of the shower that evening and was drying my hair when I heard Misty yelling. "WHAT DID YOU CALL ME? WELL YOU CAN TALK TO ASH THEN YOU SELF CENTERED JERK!"

My eyes widened and I flinched every time her voice got a little louder. I got dressed and walked into the main room. I didn't see Misty or Ash anywhere, and Brock was sitting in a chair, reading a book. I snuck up behind him and wrapped my arms around his neck, resting my chin on his shoulder.

"Where's Misty and Ash?"

He put down his book. "Well Ash went to talk to Richie, and Misty stormed off after talking on the phone with him." I could hear a confused tone in Brock's voice and realized he was as lost as I was.

Brock chuckled and grabbed my arms to pull me around the chair and into his lap. I was extremely tired today as we hadn't gotten much sleep and I snuggled into his chest. His heart began pounding against his chest and I smiled, feeling mine do the same. Yes, Brock was definitely more than a friend.

Brock kissed the top of my head and just as he was about to say something, my X-transceiver which was on the table started ringing.

I groaned, "Who is it?"

Brock leaned a little bit forward and sighed, "It's N"

I slowly got up and took it into the other room. I figured I should always answer N's calls, not even waiting an hour to call him back, since he was so worried I wouldn't answer in the first place.

Suddenly I got excited at the notion of talking to N, and now sitting on the bunk bed answered the call. "Hello"

N's face popped onto the screen and he looked deathly worried.

"What's wrong?" I asked, suddenly scared.

"Where were you last night?" he said in a worried tone, his shaking hands clasped together.

"Um, I was just here" I said, gesturing around myself, not really sure how to answer his question.

"Why didn't you answer?"

I realized N must have called when I was asleep in the living room with Brock, and my X-transceiver was in the bedroom, where I wouldn't have heard it.

"Oh, sorry N, I fell asleep in the living room and my X-transceiver was in the bedroom".

I realized I was repeating my thoughts out loud.

"Oh" he breathed out putting his hands flat on the desk in front of him. He regulated his breathing for a minute and then smiled, looking like nothing had happened. N was always so worried when it came to me and safety, and having me in another region, not knowing if I was getting eaten by Ursaring, was killing him.

"So, how is everything in Kanto?"

"Great" I said, "Ash is actually supposed to have a match in about an hour" I added, looking at the clock.

"Wish him luck for me" N said. It was an odd gesture but I nodded.

"And are you having fun sweetheart?" N asked, Zorua now hopping up on the desk.

"Yeah, I'm having a great time" I said smiling.

He smiled too, "Good"

Zorua got close to the lens and yipped happily. I finally realized he was saying hello and chuckled.

"Hi Zorua, how are you?"

He yipped again and settled down a little farther away from the camera. N was looking a little confused at this interaction. It was weird; since Zorua fell asleep on my lap we had become close, like some sort of bond was formed.

"He says he is doing well" N said, still looking a bit perplexed.

"White, it is time to go to Ash's match" I heard Misty's voice call.

N had heard it too and looked a bit sad but began to bid me farewell.

"Well you have fun" he said sighing. He still had the same white bricks as the background, and I had yet to figure out where he was.

"I will" I said smiling.

"I love you White" he said in his smooth voice.

I still hadn't gotten used to saying this to N but I went along.

"I love you too N" I said blushing a bit and looking down.

I heard his low chuckle and looked up at the screen in time to wave goodbye to him.


	21. A New Beginning for Us All

**Okay so here is Chapter 21. This is just a transitioning chapter, so nothing too awfully exciting, and there are a lot of stops and starts just to kind of get things moving. The next chapter is pretty good though, at least I think so anyway. :)**

**Anywho, enjoy! :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 21: A New Beginning for Us All**_

I found myself sitting on a bench behind Ash's trainer's box an hour later. The only problem was, Ash wasn't inside it. We had gone to the stadium under the impression that Ash was already there, but when we arrived, realized he wasn't.

"Where is he?" Misty questioned under her breath, tapping her foot. We had been informed that when Richie had called earlier today for Ash, it was in fact an imposter. By now we were all very worried about Ash, and wondered where he was and if he was okay. It was an extremely stressful wait, but after a while, he arrived, and if he had been even a second later, he would have been disqualified.

Ash was in an odd situation, Pidgeotto was too weak to use in battle and so was Pikachu from his previous encounter with Team Rocket, which was the reason why he was late; so he had a limited number of Pokémon to choose from.

It was a back and forth battle in the beginning. Richie knocked out Squirtle. Ash knocked out Butterfree. Richie knocked out Pikachu, who despite being worn out, insisted on battling. Ash after a bit of contemplation sent out his Charizard.

"Oooh" I said, scooting to the edge of my seat. I hadn't seen Ash's Charizard before, and it didn't disappoint. The big thing easily forced Richie to call back his Charmander, and after only a few minutes, they were both on their last Pokémon. Richie called out his Pikachu and the entire audience was quiet.

"Sparky, tackle" Richie called. But his Pikachu had to stop short because Charizard was in fact lying down on the court.

"What?" I questioned, wondering if something was wrong with Charizard.

"That's what always happens. Charizard just simply doesn't listen to Ash" Brock whispered to me.

"Please Charizard" Ash pleaded, "You won't have to ever listen to me again if you just battle right now".

Charizard yawned, and didn't move.

You could have heard a pin drop in that stadium; no one knew what was going to happen.

"Charizard refuses to battle, Richie is the winner" The referee announced.

All three of us gasped, waiting to see what Ash would do. He returned Charizard and tilted his head down. I could tell he was devastated, and I felt my heart sink for him. I think in that moment, I decided to help Ash train Charizard, so he didn't have to go through this again. It was the worst way to lose, almost like it wasn't fair.

He reluctantly congratulated Richie and we all went back to our room. That entire night and into the next day, Ash never left his room. He was very depressed, and that worried all of us, including his mother and Professor Oak. Misty finally was fed up with it and walked into his room.

"Ash, how about we go get some lunch" she said with a smile. He turned over to face the wall.

"I'm not hungry"

Misty looked a little irritated but continued.

"Well how about we go for a walk"

"Go by yourself" Ash answered. Pikachu was sitting on the bed across from where Ash was laying and had a worried look on his tiny face.

"C'mon Ash" Misty said, putting her hand on his arm. He violently shook it off and I could tell Misty had reached her last straw.

"ASH SNAP OUT OF IT" she yelled.

They continued to yell back and forth, Ash was now standing up so they were only a few inches apart in their little spat. We all watched from a few feet away, contemplating whether or not to intervene.

"Well" I started, "She got him out of bed at least"

Brock nodded and went over to restrain Ash before he did something he regretted.

"Ash, stop it" he calmly said.

"She started it" Ash said shooting a glare at Misty.

"Only because someone was being lazy and having a bit of a pity party" she said looking down at Pikachu.

"ARE YOU CALLING ME LAZY?" Ash yelled.

"I wasn't talking to you Ash, I was talking to Pikachu" she said with a smirk.

They continued yelling until the poor tiny Pikachu had had enough.

"Chuuuuuu" he grunted while shocking us all with a very powerful thunderbolt. I now knew what one felt like, and I started to feel a little bit bad for Team Rocket.

The TV turned on with the jolt of electricity and showed that Richie was about to have his match. Ash had basically snapped out of his funk with that thunderbolt but was still a bit mopey as we headed down to watch Richie.

* * *

"He lost" Ash said in disbelief after watching a close match between Richie and his opponent.

Ash disappeared for a while afterwards, and we finally found him at the edge of a lake with Richie. He had apparently talked some sense into Ash. The old look of determination now burned just as bright in Ash's eyes, and I smiled to myself, knowing that he was more pumped than ever to become a master.

The closing ceremony was beautiful, huge fireworks lit up the sky, and signaled not only the end of a competition, but a new beginning for so many trainers that had competed.

* * *

By the next night we had made it back to Pallet town. There wasn't much to do, so we just relaxed, and got some training in. Ash and I had started training together, not against each other, and it benefited us both greatly. Ash kept begging me for a battle but I declined. I figured it would be a while before I decided it was the right time to battle Ash again, and that irked him. By the end of day three back in Pallet both of our Pokémon had gotten much stronger, and my Venipede had evolved all the way into a Scolipede, and was now an eight foot beast.

Ash was still determined but I could tell he was slipping back into depression. He had nowhere to go now, no gyms to battle, and so his newly found enthusiasm was almost put to waste. I think Ash's mother realized this too and talked to Professor Oak who had the perfect solution.

"Can I see you all in my lab please?" Professor Oak said, grinning over the phone.

"Sure" we all said in a chorus.

It was cool having my Pokémon at Professor Oak's. They obviously were very happy there, and I was relieved to know they were in good hands.

"Ash, you still want to become a Pokémon master right?"

"Absolutely!" Ash happily answered the Professor.

"Well, I think I know exactly where to send you"

Ash leaned forward, eyes wide, waiting for the suggestion.

"Gary just went on over to the Johto region, and I think you might like to go too. It has the same inner workings of the Kanto region. Eight gyms, eight badges, and then you can enter into the Pokémon league. Plus, there are lots of new Pokémon for you to see and capture."

I think Ash could've burst out of his skin with happiness.

"Yes! I'll go!"

"Very well then, would you three like to go with him?"

Brock and Misty both nodded then turned to me. Brock looked worried that I would say no, but I nodded yes also. I would love to go to Johto; I wanted to get a look at all of the regions.

"Okay then, I will get you some tickets and other things you will need, and have them ready by tomorrow morning."

Ash skipped and whistled all the way back to his house. I grinned, knowing that I was going to get to go on yet another journey, and I would be experiencing a new region with other people who hadn't been to Johto before. A new journey for us all in a way.

* * *

"Cool, Johto huh?" N said when I was talking to him that night. He could tell that I was very excited and his face lit up at the sight of my smile.

"I'm going to get to see a lot of new Pokémon!" I said happily.

He chuckled, "Yes, the Johto region has a lot of unique Pokémon"

I could tell N was sad that I was going to be gone for a while longer, but he was happy that I was happy. I did miss N, but I was having so much fun, I was hesitant to go back just yet. I yawned.

"Well you should be getting to bed" he said, leaning back in his chair.

I nodded, "Goodnight N"

"Goodnight love" he said, his lips twitching into a smile.

I hung up and looked over to see Brock standing in the doorway.

"So he calls you love, huh?" Brock said, looking a little irritated, his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, sometimes" I answered, putting my X-transceiver down and scooting over on the bed so he could sit down.

"Don't you think that sounds a little old fashioned?" he sat down next to me, still a bit awkward because we were talking about N.

I thought for a moment, "Yeah, N is a little bit old fashioned himself". I had never classified N this way but now that it was brought up, it was quite true. He never really acted like a normal guy, and that is what set him apart from the rest.

I could tell Brock didn't want to talk about N anymore so I carefully climbed into his lap. Brock sighed and I could tell he was happy that I was showing I did in fact return his feelings. Brock still acted like we were just friends, but he wanted more. I kept trying to show him that the feeling was mutual, but it still hadn't seemed to sink in. He wrapped his arms around me.

"Are you excited about going to Johto?" he asked, pulling me in close.

"Yeah, I am totally stoked" I answered, and made a face at my odd choice in wording.

Brock chuckled and yawned.

I climbed into bed and he did too. For the past couple of nights I had fallen asleep with my head on Brock's chest, just like I did with N, and we both really seemed to like it.

I smoothed out a wrinkle in his shirt and adjusted my head.

"Are _you_ excited about going to Johto?" I asked.

He chuckled, "As long as I'm with you, I will have a great time"

I blushed at his romantic comment and my eyelids started to droop, soon pulling me off to sleep.

* * *

The next morning we headed over to Professor Oak's lab and he was standing at the front door to greet us with some things in his hands.

"Okay, I am going to keep this short because you kids need to catch a boat in about two hours. Anyway, this is your new pokedex Ash; it will have all of the information about Pokémon from the Johto region in it."

He handed Ash his new pokedex. Ash looked like he could explode with excitement as he gingerly put the pokedex away.

Oak turned now to Brock. "Okay, since you seem to be the one taking care of everyone else, here is some stuff for you. A map of Johto, information about the gym leaders and Pokémon league, a book about some places to go and see in Johto, and finally all four tickets for you all".

Brock happily stuffed all of the things into his already overflowing backpack.

"And last but not least, here White" my eyes widened as Professor Oak handed me a small card. "This is your pass to Johto; Juniper sent it over this morning. As you know trainers from Unova have to have different passes for so many different things that I think I have lost count, but this should suffice for your trip. Um, I was briefed on the rules, and they seem to be the same as in Kanto." He gave me a smile.

The pass looked almost identical to my one for Kanto, but had information on Johto instead. I smiled and thanked him before slipping it into my bag.

My traveling companions looked perplexed as to why I needed a pass and they didn't, but turned their attention back to the Professor as he started to speak.

"Anyway, there wasn't a boat directly to Johto, so you are going to have a layover in the Orange Islands. Unfortunately the layover is about a week and a half long, but you kids should get some relaxation in anyway. Information on the boats and when they leave, and also on the Orange Islands is in that book I gave you Brock."

Brock nodded.

"Okay, you have fun!"

We all started to head out as we would almost have to run to catch our boat, but I stopped to ask Oak a question.

"Oh, what about my Pokémon? I mean, how do I transfer them here instead of to Professor Juniper?"

I figured this would be the last time for a while that I got to talk to Professor Oak and wanted to get all my Duckletts in a row.

"Oh don't worry, Juniper set all that up so they automatically come here. She also sent you my number in case you need to call for anything." He gave me a warm smile.

"Thanks!" I said dashing out the door.

Pretty soon we had made it to the docks. It would take the rest of the day and a night to get to the Orange Islands. Ash's mom waved a teary goodbye to us all and before we knew it we were out of sight.

I smiled and leaned over the railing. Yes, this would be a new journey for us all indeed.


	22. The Orange Islands

**Chapter 22, here we go! So they arrive at the Orange Islands. I am sort of skipping over the whole Ash entering the Orange League bit, because Brock wasn't there, and so that wouldn't exactly go along with the story; however for this chapter and the next they are staying in the Orange Islands, and then on to Johto!**

**Anyway, Enjoy! :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 22: The Orange Islands**_

The boat we were all traveling on was very nice. We had eaten a five course meal that evening, well about 15 if you counted how much Ash ate. It was nighttime now and the sunset was gorgeous. I leaned over the railing, looking at the water flying by and was brought out of my thoughts by a hand on my back. I looked up to see Brock standing next to me.

"This is a beautiful sunset isn't it?" He looked over to the horizon.

I nodded. "Yeah, I hope the Orange Islands are just as pretty".

Brock smiled and pulled me in closer. I sighed and put one hand on his chest, the other was still on the railing.

We stood there for a while, not saying a word, and watched as the sun slowly set. It was probably the most romantic setting possible, and I think Brock realized that. Pretty soon it was completely dark and that mixed with the sound of the water sloshing up against the boat, started to creep me out. Brock took notice this and we went back to our room to go to sleep.

* * *

The next morning I was woken up by a bright light shining in my face. I finally realized it was a ray of sun coming through the window and shielded my eyes as I sat up.

Ash was gone but Brock and Misty were both still asleep. I shook Brock awake as I saw it was already eight and we were supposed to arrive at 8:30. He grumbled but we both got up and got ready to go. Misty was a little harder to wake up, we literally had to drag her out of bed, and she didn't stop complaining until we got outside. Ash was at the front of the ship, leaning over the edge, trying to see the first glimpse of land.

"So I take it you're excited Ash?" I said, smiling.

He jumped and turned around. "You bet!"

After a few minutes I saw the edge of the island and Misty flipped her lid. She ran to where Ash was standing and leaned even further, like she was controlling how fast the boat was going depending on how far she was leaning. I smiled; she was a water Pokémon trainer through and through.

Finally we made it to the port and walked off onto a sandy beach. We would be staying on the main island for the duration of our trip. It turned out Professor Oak had rented us a private cabin for the week that was directly on the beach, and we were all very excited about that.

The rest of the day was basically just spent getting groceries, finding out where everything was, and Ash going on and on about surfing, something he was apparently dying to do.

I found myself sitting on my bed that night, we had had a delicious dinner, and I was extremely bored so I decided to try and paint my fingernails clear. Everything was going fine until I had to use my left hand. My left hand was more useless than a Torkoal on its back in a pile of mud, and I was having quite an ordeal.

I heard a laugh and looked up to see Misty standing in the doorway. "Would you like some help there?" she asked, obviously amused.

I nodded and gave her the brush, feeling ashamed. She sat down and started painting, but I could tell there was something on her mind.

"So…." She started. I immediately regretted asking her to do this, as I was now stuck here, forced to contribute to whatever conversation she was about to create.

"Girl talk?" she asked.

I made a face. I was a bit of a tomboy and wasn't one to usually chat like that. "What do you have in mind?" I asked hesitantly

She gave a sly smile. "So, N huh?" she said.

I sighed, I had a feeling Misty would ask about N sometime or another, so I gave into it.

"What do you want to know?" I said, already regretting my question.

"What does he look like?" she was getting giddy, and I could tell she loved to have talks like this.

"Um, be a little more specific" I said, not really sure how to start.

"What color hair does he have?"

"Green."

She made a face, "That's odd, how tall is he?"

"I don't know" I said, starting to laugh, "I don't measure him daily". I was now mocking her and she stuck out her tongue.

"Does he train Pokémon?"

"Uh, yeah" I answered.

"How old is he?"

"Um, 18" I said. She smiled.

"Ooh, so he's older than you" she said, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah" I said, a smile now covering my face, Misty was starting to remind me of Bianca.

"Where does he live?"

"Unova" I said, giving her a look.

"Well I know _that_" she said, glaring at me, "Where in Unova"

I paused; I honestly didn't know where N lived.

"Um, I don't really know. I guess wherever Team Plasma is"

"Who is Team Plasma?"

'Oh great' I thought, 'me and my big mouth'.

"Kinda like Team Rocket, but they want to liberate Pokémon from humans, not steal them."

"Why would he live with them then?"

I sighed, "He is…. kind of their leader"

"Aren't they like your enemies" she asked, screwing the lid back on the polish.

"Um yeah, kind of"

I waited for her to condemn me but something else flew out of her mouth.

"That is _so_ romantic!" she squealed.

"What? How?" I asked.

"Well, you are like rivals, but you found love." She was making it sound all sappy.

"Kind of like Romeo and Juliet" she said, clasping her hands together.

"That isn't exactly a good thing!" I exclaimed. "They both die!"

Misty shrugged and stood up. "Hey, I think it's romantic."

She walked to the doorway, and then turned back to me. "Next time he calls I would like to see Ms. White's boyfriend" she said, making fun of what she was saying, but I could tell she wasn't kidding.

I chuckled "Okay" I said, giving in. N had wanted to meet my Kanto friends anyway, he was curious after I had talked about them some in Unova. Though it would be kind of awkward for Brock to meet N.

I changed into my pajamas and crawled into bed; after I laid down I saw Brock walking in, or rather running in, and he skidded to a halt in front of where I was laying. I propped myself up on my elbow.

"What's wrong Brock?" I asked.

"N is the leader of Team Plasma?" he asked.

I had actually told Brock about Team Plasma so he knew who they were.

I sighed, man Misty just couldn't keep a secret, or let anyone else have a secret either.

I laid back down flat; "Yes he is Brock" I smiled a little, wondering what Brock was going to say next.

"Pssshhht, why on Earth would you like _him_ then. I mean, he is going to take away Pokémon, that's just awful."

Brock was trying to make the situation sound bad, and was playing to N's weaknesses to try and get ahead, but I could tell he was joking at the same time.

I laughed, and Brock smiled too. "The heart wants what the heart wants" I said, sarcastically.

Brock frowned but then smiled again, leaning down to give me a kiss on the cheek. I think this surprised both of us because he had never done something like that before. He was beet red and I had to admit I probably looked the same.

* * *

The next morning we all got up really early so we could get as much time on the beach as possible. Since our cabin was literally _on_ the beach, all we had to do was walk out the door.

Ash was just giddy and decided to go surfing first. Brock decided to join him but Misty and I declined, as it would be much more fun to watch them wipeout from the shore.

Misty let out her Pokémon, "Come on out, Staryu, Goldeen, and Psyduck!"

Goldeen and Staryu were very happy to be swimming in the ocean. Psyduck on the other hand stayed away from the water, and after asking Misty, I found out that he couldn't swim.

Pikachu was having fun paddling around in the shallow water, and Misty decided Togepi should stay close to her, much to the little thing's dismay.

Watching Ash and Brock try to surf was probably the best thing I had ever watched in my entire life. Brock actually wasn't too bad, but Ash was just plain awful at it. Every two seconds he was sent flying into the waves, and with the fiery determination he had, he would be back up in no time, to promptly wipeout again. Finally they came back to the shore.

"Did you see us?" Ash asked enthusiastically.

"We sure did" Misty said, muffling a laugh.

"Hey what's so funny?" he asked, looking a little confused.

"Ash sweetie, you should probably stick to training Pokémon" I said, now chuckling to myself.

He laughed too. Now looking around to find Pikachu.

"Why don't you guys let your Pokémon out too" I said, looking to Ash and then Brock, who was now sitting next to me, drying off.

"Great idea" Ash said, throwing some pokeballs in the air.

"Come on out, Bulbasaur and Squirtle!"

"You too, Zubat, Onix, Geodude, and Vulpix" Brock also called.

Bulbasaur, Zubat, and Squirtle looked overjoyed to be out and about. Vulpix, being a fire type stayed as far away from the water as possible, as did Brock's Geodude, and Onix, the latter of which took up a ton of room.

"Now you, Scolipede, Sigilyph, Zebstrika, and Tranquill" I called. They all adjusted quickly and were having a great time in moments. I decided to keep my fire types in their pokeballs, to save them the hassle of trying not to get wet.

"Speaking of training" I said, turning to Ash. "How about we take a look at that Charizard of yours?"

He hesitated, "Are you sure?"

"You bet" I said with a grin, now standing up and walking a little further out on the beach. I had been waiting to meet Charizard for a long time now, and was determined to have the large Pokémon's trust, unlike Ash. I mean, I was a fire Pokémon trainer, and usually fire types had a sweet spot for trainers who liked them.

"Charizard let's go" Ash called, a bit hesitantly and the large creature appeared a few feet away from me. I had the widest grin on my face, and I couldn't seem to shake it.

Charizard looked around; assessing his surroundings and when he felt at ease turned his gaze to me. He gave me an odd look, somewhere between a smirk and a smile.

"Hi Charizard" I said, still giddy over the fire Pokémon. I walked towards him ready to pet his head.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you" Ash called, and Brock stood up quickly, ready to jump in between us if necessary.

I disregarded their comments and soon had my hand on Charizard's head. He didn't know what to think at first, but after a few seconds started giving out a low growl of happiness. It sounds weird to say a growl of happiness, but that's really what it was. It kind of sounded like Zorua's growly purr, but on a much larger scale.

"You've got to be kidding me" Ash said, a bit jealous.

"Why, what does he normally do?" I asked.

Brock laughed, "Well usually Ash takes a flamethrower to the face."

I laughed too and continued petting Charizard, who was now as docile as a baby.

"Fire types are different Ash; you just have to know how to deal with them. Plus it doesn't hurt that he can sense that I have wanted to see him for a long time now. _And_ I am partial to fire types, and fire types like fire type trainers. The list goes on and on." I was now more talking to myself, trying to come up with reasons why Charizard liked me, while still in awe of the creature.

"Well that shouldn't be so hard" Ash said, marching down the beach till he was next to me. I took my hand off of Charizard and waited for Ash to try. The minute Ash's hand was on Charizard a blast of flames struck him from the large Pokémon's mouth. Charizard turned his head the other way, while a crispy Ash sighed in defeat.

I laughed, "Charizard how about you battle against me with Ash" I said. Charizard peeked out of the corner of his eye at me, contemplating.

"Oh, you're going to battle against me again?" Ash asked in excitement, wiping some ash off of his face.

"I would like to battle against Charizard, and you're his trainer right?" I said smirking at Ash.

"But he won't listen to me" Ash said, looking at the ground.

Charizard had made up his mind and snorted, letting me know that 'I was on'.

"Really Charizard?" Ash said, looking like he was about to cry tears of joy.

Charizard nodded.

Pretty soon we were standing across from each other, the large Pokémon poised and ready to go.

"Sigilyph" I called, "Would you like to battle?" The symbol Pokémon who was floating over the waves happily flew over to me, also ready to go.

"Alright" Brock said, "This will be a-" he stopped, now looking at Charizard, who was laying on the ground, seemingly not interested in battling anymore.

"Come on Charizard" Ash said in frustration.

'Hmm' I thought to myself, maybe a different Pokémon.

"Zebstrika, how about you?"

The electric zebra pranced over, ready to battle. Sigilyph looked a little disappointed but went to sit on the sideline, or as close to sitting as a Sigilyph can come.

"Alright" Brock started again, "This will be a-"

Charizard yawned, closing his eyes. I made a face, why wasn't he wanting to battle anymore? Charizard opened one eye to give me a sly look, and that was when it clicked. 'That's it' I thought 'Charizard only believes that another fellow fire type would be worth his time battling'.

I grinned right back at Charizard and looked over to Brock, who was standing next to my bag.

"Can you toss me the pokeball that's in my bag?" I asked. Brock fished out two, and I pointed to the one on the left. He tossed it to me and I again smirked. This would be one heck of a battle. Zebstrika trotted to the sideline and I called out the only Pokémon that I knew would spark Charizard's interest.

"Talace, let's go" I said. My Emboar was out in a moment, and after a few seconds of making sure the water wasn't going to touch him turned his gaze to Charizard, who was now slowly getting up, not taking his eyes off of Talace. Charizard definitely wanted to battle this opponent. Talace stomped the ground, making it rumble, and I had a little bit of a hard time staying standing. Charizard did the same, and Ash was now the one that was having troubles staying upright.

"Alright" Brock started once again, "This is a battle between White and Talace, and Ash and Charizard. Each will use only one Pokémon; the match is over whenever one trainer's Pokémon is unable to battle."

Ash and I glared at each other, getting into the spirit of battling.

"Go" Brock said, lifting up his arms.

"Charizard, Flamethrower" Ash called immediately.

"You too Talace" I said. The flames collided, and neither Pokémon gained any ground.

Ash frowned, but this made me more pumped to battle.

"Charizard, steel wing" Ash called. He looked overjoyed when his Pokémon listened to him and flew towards Talace.

"Dodge" I called. I knew Charizard was fast, and I hoped Talace was faster. My Emboar tried to step out of the way, but was hit by the tip of Charizard's wing, sending him backwards a few feet. Talace snorted in frustration.

"Grab him and use seismic toss" Ash called.

Charizard turned on a dime to grab Talace. Somehow, but not without a struggle, Charizard lifted Talace into the air. I stayed quiet, knowing exactly how I was going to counter. Ash grinned, thinking I had nothing.

"Seismic toss, now" Ash called. Charizard swirled in the air before starting to spiral towards the ground. When he was about thirty feet in the air I called my command.

"Get on top and use Arm thrust" I called.

Talace knew exactly what I meant and managed to get above Charizard while still hurdling towards the ground. He slammed a gigantic fist into the Charizard's chest and it came down fast with a loud boom when it hit the ground, leaving behind a cloud of sand. Talace hit the ground with a loud boom too, but the difference was that Talace had landed on his feet.

When the sand cleared I could see Charizard, who was obviously worn out, but using pure determination to stand back up.

"Alright Charizard!" Ash cheered. Ash paused and his face went back to being serious. "Flamethrower" he called.

"Dodge and use Head Smash"

Talace had just learned head smash and I had been hesitant to use it since Talace would also take damage. But Charizard was a fellow fire type, who was weak against rock type moves and I decided it was worth it.

Talace narrowly dodged the flames and pushed off the ground to go hurdling head first, at a speed I didn't believe was possible, to smash into Charizard, sending him flying.

The sand was really swirling in the air, but when it cleared, Charizard was down and out.

"Charizard is unable to battle; White and Talace are the winners"

I smiled and ran over to hug Talace, who was panting a little. Weirdly enough, that battle was the closest battle I had ever fought; even thought I had expected it to be harder.

"Great job" I said. Talace looked proud of himself as he shot a flame ball to the side. I returned him and walked over to Charizard who was now sitting up, looking disappointed.

"Are you okay Charizard?" Ash questioned.

Charizard grunted and looked the other way. It had really hurt Charizard's large ego when he lost, but I knew that would help in the long run. The large Pokémon was having troubles sitting up and I sat down next to him, with a hyper potion. At first Charizard wanted nothing to do with me, but once I started petting his neck, he gave in. I pulled his head into my lap and started spraying the healing liquid on him.

"You are very strong Charizard" I commented and I could see a slight smile on his face. "The only reason you didn't win is because you don't have a close bond with your trainer. Talace and I are very close, and almost battle as one, whereas you and Ash haven't really gotten any practice together, and battle as two separate beings."

Charizard looked unamused but I could tell he was listening. I honestly didn't know why Charizard didn't listen to Ash, Ash was nice to him, but apparently wasn't doing something right. I sighed and stood up once I was done.

We spent the rest of the day on the beach, relaxing. Ash was deep in thought almost the whole time. I looked over to Charizard who was sleeping close by, and was making sure he was as far away from the water as possible.

I smiled; I could tell that the ice between Ash and Charizard was melting, no matter how slowly.


	23. A Lucky Coincidence

**And here is Chapter 23! Next one we head to Johto, and then the one after that... back to Unova it is!**

**I personally like this chapter for some odd reason, but ohwell.**

**I love all the reviews and whatnot, they are what keeps me alive. *hint hint, wink wink* :P**

**Anywho, enjoy! :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 23: A Lucky Coincidence**_

The next morning I woke up to a delicious smell. I walked into the kitchen to see a sight that I had gotten used to. Misty and Ash sitting at the table, and Brock cooking.

"What is that smell?" I asked.

Brock turned around, "Good morning White, it's my special recipe waffles" he said, grinning.

I sat down at the table, and he put the plate of waffles in the middle. I hesitantly took a bite. Whenever my mom called something her 'special recipe' it was usually spicier than the devil, or tasted like dirty socks. But this was Brock we were talking about, and sure enough it was amazing.

"Holy Arceus these things are good!" I exclaimed.

"I'm glad you like them" Brock said, leaning over and kissing me on the cheek, which caused us both to blush, Misty to laugh, and Ash to look very confused.

After we were finished eating we sat around and talked, mostly about Pokémon, and then Ash suggested that we go surfing. Brock declined this time, but Misty decided to join him.

Brock and I lounged on a beach chair, watching Ash wipeout time after time again. Misty was actually really good at surfing, but that was to be expected.

"I like your swimming suit" Brock said, looking out of the corner of his eye while lifting a cup to his lips and taking a drink.

I laughed, "Thanks Brock" I scrunched my eyebrows together, "What are you drinking?"

"Coffee" he answered.

"On a beach?"

"Why not?" he said shrugging, "You want some?"

I contemplated for a minute and then took the mug, took a sip, and handed it back to him. Suddenly a foul taste was in my mouth, I made a face and Brock began to laugh. Somehow I managed to swallow it.

"Gah, what _is_ that stuff?" I said, moving my tongue around in my mouth, trying to get the taste out.

"Coffee" he said blatantly.

"What's wrong with it?"

He laughed again, and I glared at him until he answered. "I like my coffee plain."

I raised my eyebrows, my grandfather had always liked coffee like that, but I hadn't known anyone else to. I mean, come on, sugar and cream is the epitome of what makes coffee taste good.

"Wow, you have some strong taste buds sir" I said, putting on my sunglasses and leaning back. Somehow we had squeezed us both into one chair, and it was a tight fit. He struggled to get his arm around me, but finally managed.

Ash and Misty both skipped back to shore. Misty laid back on the chair next to us, also putting her sunglasses on.

Ash stood in front of us, looking like he was contemplating what to do. Ash was a rather hyper active person, and I knew he couldn't stay still long enough to relax on a chair. He walked over and fished out the only Pokémon that was still in its pokeball, as all of our other Pokémon were already out. I still didn't have Talace out however, as I figured whenever Ash decided to try again with Charizard, it wouldn't be a good mix. But Darmanitan was out, now playing in the sand. I wondered if it was possible for him to teach himself sandstorm, but finally decided that it wasn't.

"Alright Charizard" Ash called letting the giant Pokémon out.

Charizard stood still, watching Ash slowly approach him.

"Alright, what do you say to getting some training in?" Ash asked in a sweet voice, trying to be nice to Charizard.

Charizard contemplated and then blasted Ash with another flamethrower.

"Come on Charizard" Ash said, still trying to be nice.

Charizard huffed, and again used a flamethrower on Ash's face.

"Pleeeeeaaaassseee Charizard?" Ash begged.

And once again a large ball of flames hit Ash.

It continued on like this for a good half an hour. I was surprised Ash wasn't burnt to a crisp, but I guess he had some tough skin.

Brock chuckled and got up. "I'm going to make some sandwiches for lunch, what would you guys like?" he asked while stretching.

"Ham and cheese!" Ash yelled, his mouth starting to water at the mention of food.

"Peanut butter and Jelly" Misty said, adjusting her sunglasses.

"Ham and cheese for me too" I said, smiling up at Brock.

"Coming right up" he said, smiling and bending down to kiss me on the cheek. He trudged back up to our cabin and shut the door. Misty and I sat there for a while, watching Ash's failed attempts at training Charizard. Just as I was about to say something I heard a buzz, and looked down to see N's name on my X-transceiver.

"Ooh" Misty said, now excited as she was going to force me to let her meet N.

I chuckled and picked it up. "Hello"

"Hi White" N said, smiling. He looked a bit confused. "Where are you?"

"On the beach, in the Orange Islands" I said, trying to make it sound as amazing as it was. I had to lean back a little bit farther so I could see N because of the major glare on the screen.

"So I take it you are having fun?" he asked, smiling.

"You bet" I said, as Zorua once again hopped up onto the desk, sitting down with his tail curled around him.

"I like your swimming suit" he said, a wide grin on his face.

"Thank you N" I said, chuckling as it was exactly what Brock had said a while earlier.

"And I have to admit I am a little jealous of that chair" he said half-jokingly. I looked to the side, and realized he was talking about the one I was laying on.

I rolled my eyes and stuck my tongue out at him. He laughed.

I felt a firm poke on my shoulder I looked over to see Misty with a wide grin on her face while pointing to my X-transceiver then to herself.

"Okay N, there is someone who wants to meet you" I said, hoping this wasn't a mistake.

"Oh, who?" he asked, confused.

"Well, my Kanto friends kinda wanted to, and I know you wanted to meet them too."

He smiled, "You bet"

Misty now butted her head into the picture and waved. "Hi I'm Misty" she said, smiling.

"Hello Misty, my name is N" he said, amused by the red head. Misty leaned back out of the picture and mouthed, 'he's hot' while fanning herself. I rolled my eyes and got out of the chair to walk closer to Ash.

"And this is Ash, the one who came in the top 16 at the Indigo League"

Ash waved and smiled, sheepishly scratching the back of his head, embarrassed that I was bragging about him.

"Hello Ash" N said calmly, now starting to pet Zorua.

The blast of a flamethrower hit Ash and turned him once again into a human French fry.

"And _that_ was courtesy of Charizard" I said shaking my head.

"Oh, is he the one that doesn't listen to Ash?" N questioned.

I nodded and Charizard growled. N raised his eyebrows.

"White may I see Charizard for a second" I made a face but did as he said.

"And why would you say that?" N asked Charizard.

Charizard looked confused and hesitantly growled.

"Yes I can" N said, smiling.

They conversed back and forth for about ten minutes before N said he was through.

Ash and Misty looked absolutely stunned and I smiled, still a little shocked myself at N's ability.

"So what were you talking about?" I asked.

"Well, I know why Charizard won't listen to him" N said happily. I widened my eyes.

"Why?" I asked.

"Well, as you know fire types are very proud of their power. Charizard believes that Ash takes advantage of it, and doesn't give Charizard full credit for how strong he is."

I frowned, "So how exactly do we fix that".

"Ash just needs to let Charizard know that he really cares about him, and respects him as a Pokémon."

"That's all?" I asked.

N nodded, "Ash and Charizard just need to have a heart to heart." He paused, frowning at what he was going to say next, "And battling together might not hurt either"

I smiled looking over to Ash to see if he had heard. Ash nodded and glanced at Charizard, now looking like he was deep in thought.

"Thanks N" Ash said, a little bit awkwardly.

N nodded, smiling. "Didn't you say you have three companions that you are traveling with White?"

"Oh yeah" I said, looking up for Brock. I realized he was still inside making lunch. It had been about fifteen minutes, but when it came to cooking Brock was a perfectionist and it usually took him a while to make a meal, even if it was only sandwiches.

"Um, Brock is inside, maybe you could meet him another time" I said.

"Sure thing" N said, as Zorua yawned.

I sat back down in my chair, sighing inwardly. 'Man I really dodged a bullet on that one' I thought to myself.

"So when are you going to be arriving in Johto?" N asked, and I could tell he had something else on his mind.

"Um in about a week" I said, adjusting my sunglasses.

"And when do you think you will be back in Unova?" he asked. This was obviously his main question; he was just trying to transition into it.

"Uh, I really don't know" I said.

N looked to the right of the camera and squinted his eyes, looking like he was reading something.

"You think you will be back after a week in Johto?" he said looking back at the screen.

"Um, I don't know. Why a week?" I asked, wondering why he was being so specific.

He paused, his eyes flitting from side to side. "Uh, no reason" he said, starting to laugh to himself.

Now I really wanted to know. "Why a week, is there something happening?" I said, giving him a look.

He shook his head, "That's in the future"

I started to push further but stopped when I heard the door shake and could tell Brock was about to come out.

I widened my eyes, "Well, that's lunch, gotta go!" I said quickly.

N looked a little surprised but smiled, "Alright, goodbye sweetheart"

"Bye N" I said with a smile, and promptly hung up. I set my X-transceiver down.

"Who was that?" Brock asked, already knowing the answer.

"Just a telemarketer" I said, jokingly.

"It was N" Misty sang, obviously happy with her encounter with him. "He is one good looking man Brock, you better watch out." She said smiling and wagging her finger at him.

Brock gave an irritated sigh and handed everyone their sandwiches. He managed to cram back into the seat with me, and we all began to eat. The ham and cheese sandwich was the best I had ever tasted. I thought all ham and cheese sandwiches tasted the same, but somehow Brock was able to set his apart. I put my plate down and stretched, laying my head on Brock's chest. He sighed in contentment and I closed my eyes, listening as his heart picked up its pace.

* * *

I must've fallen asleep because I was awoken by Brock lightly shaking my shoulder. I groaned and looked up at him to see what he wanted. Brock pointed past me and I looked over my shoulder to see Ash talking to Charizard. I could tell Ash was telling Charizard exactly what N had suggested, and it looked like the large Pokémon didn't exactly know how to take it. I smiled. I hoped Charizard and Ash made up, if so they would be one heck of a team

* * *

"Charizard, flamethrower" Ash called, pointing to the giant Onix standing across from him.

"Rock throw Onix" Brock called. I had to admit I hadn't really gotten to see Brock battle, but now I understood how he would've been a gym leader.

"Dodge and use steel wing" Ash called.

Charizard flew towards the large rock snake, swiftly dodging the constant flow of rocks. Charizard was now listening to Ash, well to some degree. It had been two days since he had his sit down chat with Charizard, and it had made a difference.

"Iron tail" Brock called and the two powers collided sending Charizard flying backwards, but Onix stayed in the same place. It was the final blow to knock out Charizard and Ash looked sad.

"Charizard is unable to battle, the victory goes to Brock and Onix" I said awkwardly. Ash had begged me to be the referee and I only agreed if I could do it from my beach chair.

Onix slithered off to where Geodude and the fire Pokémon were. Since none of them liked water, they had formed an alliance and created themselves a little nook where the water couldn't get in. Well, not exactly little since Onix could fit.

"Great job Brock, you were amazing" I said. Battles always made me happy, and it was neat watching Brock battle for the first time. He sat down next to me and I kissed him on the cheek. He leaned back and pulled me down to lay next to him.

Charizard looked absolutely furious but let Ash heal him. The minute he was completely healed Charizard was already trying to get another match. 'And I thought Talace and I were battle crazy' I thought to myself.

"Brock will you judge a match between Misty and me?" Ash asked.

"As long as I can do it from this chair" Brock said, repeating what I had said earlier.

Charizard barely won this match, but was extremely proud of himself. He blew fire out of his mouth at an alarming rate, sort of as a Charizard happy dance.

"I still don't understand why it has taken us this long to win one" Ash said, sitting down on the sand. This was the first match Charizard had won, and I think they had battled pretty much every one of our Pokémon.

"It takes a while to form a bond" I said, brushing a strand of hair out of my face.

"Not this long" Ash said.

"It's only been two days Ash" I said. Ash was one impatient person.

"I bet I could form a bond faster with any other Pokémon" Ash said confidently.

"Oh really?" I said, bringing my sunglasses down my nose to peer over them skeptically at him.

"Yes, and I will prove it" he said, confidently.

"Okay how?" I asked.

"You battle against me with Charizard." He said standing up and brushing the sand off of his legs.

I made a face. Heck yeah I wanted to battle with Charizard, but I was curious as to which Pokémon Ash wanted to battle with.

"And I will battle with Talace" Ash said, answering my question for me.

I sputtered out a laugh. There was no way that Talace would want to battle with Ash; but I could tell it would be entertaining for him to find that out the hard way, so I agreed.

"Alright Charizard, it's you and me" I said, patting him on the neck. He snorted in approval.

Ash threw Talace's ball up in the air and my Emboar came out. Talace looked confused and Ash began to explain.

"So Talace, what do ya say to battling with me?" Ash asked, sounding like a salesman.

Talace looked panicked and quickly looked over to me to snort several times, letting me know he wasn't comfortable with this, and he was a bit hurt that I apparently didn't want to battle with him.

"White will be battling with Charizard. It's just for fun" Ash said, excitement showing through.

Talace whipped his head around to glare at Charizard. Charizard had a cocky look on his face and stuck out his tongue at Talace. My Emboar was furious and roared at Charizard. Charizard roared back. It went on like this for a while before the two gigantic Pokémon; (who were both very mad now, I assumed at the insults they were throwing back and forth, even though I couldn't speak Pokémon) started crouching down ready to battle, but without trainers. Ash and I looked a little bit afraid, and realized we had made a mistake pairing up two Pokémon with such fiery personalities for a second time.

They both started charging towards each other, both getting ready to blast the other with a flamethrower. I knew if this fight started, it wouldn't be stopped so I didn't the only thing that my idiotic brain could think of. I slid between the two holding my hands up.

"Stop" I yelled, looking to Charizard and then Talace. They both had their flamethrowers already started and I had a sinking feeling they wouldn't stop. Talace's face turned from angry to shocked, and then to worried all within less than a second. He reached forward, pulling me around behind him, just in time for Charizard's flamethrower to hit him head on, right where I would've been.

Charizard looked shocked this time and Talace turned around making sure I was okay. I was of course fine, as Talace was an incredible guardian but I was a bit surprised. Talace gently lifted me to my feet and snorted a few times, asking if I was alright. I nodded and he looked relieved. He had a sad look in his eyes, and I could tell as he let out a low grunt that he was saying he was sorry.

"No, I knew you would have a powerful reaction when Ash said you would battle with him instead of me, but I didn't exactly expect anger, that's all" I said, smiling a bit.

Talace insisted afterwards that he stay out of his ball. Mostly because he wanted to make sure I wasn't going to battle with Charizard again. Whenever something happened to me, Talace got that much more protective, and now, he didn't want to let me out of his sight. I sat next to the giant Pokémon and leaned against him. He gently patted my shoulder.

"Thank you Talace" I said, deep in thought.

He looked surprised but grunted a 'you're welcome'. I had noticed I was getting better at understanding what Talace was saying. Ash could almost always tell what Pikachu was saying, and I hoped to someday have an understanding of my Emboar like that.


	24. Johto It Is

**And we are on to chapter 24. Next one we head on back to Unova. This chapter is actually short compaired to the others, but I think it will suffice.**

**Thanks for the reviews and whatnot, they make my day a little bit shinier. If a day can be shiny...**

**Anywho, enjoy! :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 24: Johto It Is**_

The last few days we were on the island went by in a blur. We all surfed some. I was sadly almost as bad as Ash as I didn't have much of a sense of balance. We all also battled, and Talace still insisted he stay out of his ball. Because of this Brock and Talace sort of bonded. It was odd, they both were very protective of me, and so they had something in common. I wished Talace would make friends with N like he had with Brock. I also made good friends with Brock's Onix. The creature was very large and very intimidating, but was as gentle and as cuddly as a teddy bear.

Ash had made good progress with Charizard, and he almost always listened to him in battle now. They were on the verge of becoming friends, but weren't _quite_ there yet.

We all packed so slowly that we almost missed the boat, but managed to make it in time. It would be a five hour ride, and then we would finally be in Johto.

* * *

Six hours later I found myself in Professor Elm's lab. He was the professor in Johto, and seemed to be quite knowledgeable. He was a high strung man, but managed somehow to keep everything in order.

After acquiring a vast amount of information from him we headed out to start our journey.

"It looks like the first gym is in Violet City" Brock said carefully, "But you need to check in at a Pokémon center first, if you are planning on entering the Johto League."

Ash nodded, "So we will hit the first Pokémon center we see, and then off to Violet City" he said, happily starting to march ahead on the dirt road. We followed, Brock still looking at the map.

"However Violet City is a ways away; it might take us a couple of weeks to get there on foot."

"What?" Misty said, looking overwhelmed, "a couple of weeks?" she slumped over, looking worn out already.

"Yeah, Johto looks like it's a rather large region, and the gyms are pretty spread out" Brock answered, flipping the page.

"Come on, it'll be fun" Ash said with a huge smile on his face.

"Pi-Pikachu" said Pikachu, also looking happy.

"Fine" Misty grumbled as we headed onwards.

Ash whistled the whole three hours it took to find a Pokémon center. Misty just walked in silence, quietly pouting; and Brock and I were just happy to be there, holding hands as we walked.

Ash burst through the Pokémon center doors to run up to Nurse Joy.

"Can I help you?" she asked, looking surprised.

"Yes, I would like to register to be able to enter in the Johto League" Ash said with a winning smile.

My eyes flitted up to Brock, wondering if he would tap into his romantic side with Nurse Joy. But he didn't, seemingly happy just standing there, holding my hand.

After a few minutes we were back on our way and decided to stop by a lake for lunch. After Brock had cooked up an amazing meal, we sat down to eat.

"Pika" I heard Pikachu say. We all glanced at Pikachu who had stopped eating; now looking at a patch of grass in the middle of the lake.

"What is it Pikachu?" Ash asked.

"Pika" the small yellow Pokémon said, pointing to the lake. We all turned to see a small blue Pokémon, floating around, squirting water out of its mouth.

"Ooh" Ash said, pointing his pokedex at it.

"Totodile, the big jaw Pokémon. It's powerful, well-developed jaws are capable of crushing anything. Even its trainer must be careful."

"I'll catch it" Ash said, pulling out a pokeball and standing up.

"No way, water is my specialty" Misty said, shoving Ash out of the way.

"That doesn't give you any qualifications for catching a Totodile," Ash said, pushing Misty back.

"Yes it does, just watch." Misty said. "Staryu, go"

The star Pokémon was out and standing at the ready within seconds.

"Water gun" she called. A spray of water burst from its top point towards the seemingly oblivious Totodile. At the last minute the small Pokémon turned on a dime to dodge the attack and squirt a blast of water right back. It danced around, apparently happy with its accomplishment.

"See, you aren't so great" Ash said, stepping in front of Misty.

"Pikachu, thunderbolt" he called. The large electric attack hit right on the mark and the Totodile was sent flying onto the land and skidded behind a tall patch of grass.

"Pokeball go!" both Ash and Misty called, throwing their pokeballs at the patch of grass. There was a red flash and the Totodile was successfully caught.

"Alright I caught a Totodile" both Ash and Misty yelled. They then quieted and turned to each other.

"No I caught it" Misty said.

"No, I did" Ash retorted. They scrambled to find the pokeball, and realizing all pokeballs looked the same, hadn't gained much ground in finding out whose it was.

"I'll battle you for it" Misty said.

"Deal" Ash said holding out his hand. They shook on it, and Brock was once again pulled in to be the referee.

After a long battle, Ash narrowly won with a well-timed Solar beam from Bulbasaur.

"Oh boy" Ash said, grabbing Totodile's pokeball.

"I caught, a Totodile" Ash once again made a peace sign.

"Pi-Pikachu" Pikachu chimed in, also making a peace sign.

I leaned over to Brock. "Why does he always do that?"

Brock shrugged, "It's kind of his thing". I nodded.

We walked for another four hours before it began getting dark. We set up camp and Brock made a fire. After a delicious dinner we all laid out our sleeping bags. I rummaged around in my backpack, but couldn't find mine. I scrunched my eyebrows together, then remembering, I facepalmed. Bianca and Cheren had asked if they could borrow my sleeping bag and my tent for a few days while I was back in Unova, and being typical friends, hadn't returned them; and I had totally forgot to bug them about giving it back.

I frowned. 'Guess I will be sleeping on the ground tonight' I thought as I dusted off the area around me. Brock noticed and addressed me.

"Where is your sleeping bag White?"

I sighed, "I left it in Unova"

Brock stayed silent before a huge smile spread across his face. "That's okay, you can sleep with me in mine tonight" he said, sounding like he was going to burst with joy.

"I have an extra one White" Ash said, turning to his backpack.

"No you don't" Brock said, glaring at Ash.

"Yeah I do" Ash said, still rummaging.

"No, you don't" Brock once again replied, sounding annoyed.

"I don't?" Ash asked.

"Oh good lord Ash, just go to sleep" Misty said, exasperated at a socially oblivious Ash.

"O-okay" Ash said, still a bit confused, and crawled into his bag.

I was hesitant to be crammed into a sleeping bag with Brock; but then again I had crammed into a beach chair with him, and his sleeping bag was rather large so I agreed.

Once I managed to crawl in Brock zipped it up and wrapped his arms around me.

"You comfortable?" he asked, obviously pleased with the new sleeping arrangement.

I chuckled. "Yeah"

Suddenly a loud snore was heard and I jumped. Brock looked over to see Ash was the culprit. We both watched as he slept with his mouth wide open, letting out a noise that sounded like rocks in a blender. Somehow Misty wasn't awakened; she was one hard sleeper.

Both Brock and I laid there for a while, waiting for the noise to stop so we could go to sleep and when it didn't Brock sighed and got up.

"What are you doing?" I asked as I rolled over to watch Brock tip toe over to Ash.

Brock didn't answer and I saw him trying to close Ash's mouth, just for it to flop back open again. Brock tried about a million different methods to get him to be quiet. Ash wasn't exactly a pleasant person to wake up, so he tried to avoid that though. Finally Ash was shut up by a strategically placed sock in his mouth. As Brock carefully stuffed it in there it took every ounce of self-control I had to not burst out laughing.

Brock crept back and crawled in.

"There, that should do it" he said, looking proud.

I started laughing and muffled it with my hand. Brock chuckled as he once again zipped up the bag. As my giggling fit slowed he kissed me on the forehead.

"Goodnight White" he said, a smile in his voice.

"Goodnight Brock" I said, snuggling into his chest.

* * *

I woke up the next morning to hushed whispers.

"You make breakfast"

"Why"

"Because I don't want to this morning"

"Come on, just get up"

"No way, I'll wake up White"

"Ash just make breakfast; let Brock catch a break for once."

"Why don't you make it then Misty?"

"Because Brock told you to do it"

"I don't care who does it"

"I don't know how to cook"

"Sure you do, just follow that recipe"

"It's so confusing"

"It is _so_ simple Ash" I heard a small thump.

"Ow what was that for"

"For being an idiot, just read it, it is simple enough"

"If it's so simple, then you do it"

"Fine"

I heard the crunching of leaves as they walked away.

I slightly opened one of my eyes to see Brock was in fact still next to me. I could've realized this earlier because he still had his arms wrapped around me, but I was too engrossed in listening to the conversation that was supposed to not wake me up.

I grumbled and looked up at Brock. He smiled.

"Good morning White"

I smiled, "Good morning Brock." I turned to see both Ash and Misty about twenty feet away, hunched over a pan, reading a sheet of paper.

"Are you sure they won't burn the forest down?" I asked, rubbing my eyes.

"Nah, they'll be fine" he said chuckling to himself.

"Why aren't you making breakfast this morning?" I asked.

"Because I wanted to stay in here with you" he said, giving me a peck on the cheek.

I smiled and did the same.

* * *

For the next few days it was rather routine. We traveled during the day, sometimes running into strange people or Pokémon, and at night we all ate and slept, Brock and I still in the same sleeping bag. Ash managed to catch himself a Heracross, so we trained some also.

Finally on the night before the one week mark in Johto, I got another call from N. I got calls from N every day, but usually they were in the afternoon, and this one was abnormally late.

"Hello" I answered.

"Hi White" N said, looking a little bit excited.

"Why are you calling so late?" I asked.

"I wanted to ask you something" he replied, his hands shaking.

I waited and he went on.

"I would like you to come back to Unova tomorrow morning."

I raised my eyebrows, "Why?"

He hesitated, obviously not wanting to tell me, but went on, "I have a surprise for you"

My eyes widened. I had always loves surprises, ever since I was a kid. The minute anyone told me there was a surprise, within the next twenty four hours it was my personal goal to find out what it was, and without fail I would unveil whatever the surprise was; making it virtually impossible to buy me Christmas gifts.

"What is it?" I asked, starting to shake with excitement.

N grinned, now knowing he had my interest. "You will just have to wait and see" he said with sly look on his face.

I started tapping my foot. I hadn't planned on going back to Unova yet, let alone on such short notice, but with the mention of a surprise, I just had to.

"Fine, I'll leave tomorrow morning, and be there at around noon" I said, my stomach now doing flips of excitement.

N beamed, "Good, I will see you then" he now looked even more excited and I could tell he was overjoyed I was coming back.

"Okay, bye N" I said, waving.

"Goodbye love" he replied.

The flips my stomach was doing now wasn't only excitement for the surprise. I had missed N more than I realized, and at the mention of going back I realized this; and I had to admit I was a little bit homesick also.

I walked over to sit on a rock, now watching Brock cook. He looked unhappy.

"So you are going back tomorrow?" he questioned.

I felt bad for leaving Brock; but I also felt bad when I left N. It was a lose-lose situation, but I also got to see one of them so it was a win-win situation too.

I rubbed his back. "I'll be back soon" I said, giving him a smile.

He nodded.

"Here" I said holding out a piece of paper. "This is my X-transceiver number, and so any time you reach a phone, you can call"

He looked much happier at this and tucked the paper into his pocket.

We ate Brock's delicious-as-always dinner and I once again crawled into the sleeping bag with him.

He zipped up the bag and encircled his arms around me, looking into my eyes.

"I wish you would stay" he said, looking sad again.

"I know Brock" I said, giving him a small smile.

He smiled back and intently gazed at me. We stayed like that for a while, in our own little world before Brock suddenly moved towards me. I felt him softly press his lips to mine. My eyes widened in surprise, but I soon closed them to gently kiss him back. We pulled away after a second or two and I opened my eyes to see Brock, looking like he had just been given the greatest news of his life.

'Why is it that when I am about to go back to Unova something major happens with Brock that makes me want to stay?' I questioned to myself.

I smiled and hugged him, resting my head on his chest. His heart was pounding and so was mine.


	25. Back to Unova

_**Chapter 25 here we go. **_**I am taking it back to Unova... super creative chapter title right? **

**This is again just a transitioning chapter, nothing too awfully exciting, and a little bit of fluffiness. (I really doubt that is how that is spelled, but ohwell)**

**This is rather short compaired to my other chapters, and it is also rather late, so I apologize. **

**Thanks for all the reviews and whatnot again. :P**

**Anywho I'll stop rambling now, Enjoy! :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 25: Back to Unova**_

It was about one thirty when I saw the outline of Unova in the distance. I had gotten a late start, and I knew N would be worried when I didn't arrive at noon like I had said. I had had about five hours to contemplate what my surprise was. I finally settled on the idea that N had gotten me a Pokémon; that was the only reasonable explanation I could come up with. I turned Sigilyph a little to the left, so I would be heading towards the gate to Unova. Soon I saw where I would be landing. It wasn't so much of a gate, as it looked more like a runway for an airplane. It was a small paved area with forest on either side, and was on the edge of a cliff, overlooking the ocean. I saw the small building where the man who works there spends most of his time. I also saw a dot of green and knew N was there waiting for me. As I got closer I noticed he was leaning against the building, tapping his foot, looking around nervously. I smiled.

Soon I was landing and N looked overjoyed. As I got off of Sigilyph I looked around, waiting to see a small Growlithe or Vulpix with a ribbon around their neck; but I didn't. I returned Sigilyph and turned to N who was speed walking towards me. I smiled and started walking towards him. I had really missed N, and still hadn't realized exactly how much until I saw him.

I broke into a jog as I met him and threw my arms around his neck in a tight hug. He bent over a little and wrapped his arms around me, squeezing me even harder than I was him, almost to the point where I thought I wasn't going to be able to breathe.

"I missed you White" he said letting out a sigh.

"I missed you too N" I said, a smile showing through in my voice.

I pulled back and smiled up at him, my arms still loosely around his neck.

"Welcome back" he said with a smile, and leaned down for a kiss.

I was smacked in the face with something dark before he had the chance though, and I stumbled back a few feet. My hands flew to my face and peeled off the small object, which turned out to be Zorua, who was also happy I was back.

I chuckled, "Hi Zorua"

He yipped and licked my face, I giggled.

N chuckled but looked a bit irritated at the interruption.

"So where is this so called surprise?" I asked, excitement showing through as I petted Zorua.

"You will see tomorrow" he said, smirking.

"What?" I asked, "Tomorrow?"

He nodded, "I wanted to have a day with you first, _and _make sure you got here in time" he frowned, "by the way, why were you late?"

I shrugged, "Meh, I slept in longer than I had intended"

He looked satisfied with my answer and picked up Zorua from my arms. The small fox looked a little distressed at first but settled onto N's shoulder quickly. N grabbed my hand and started walking. We were stopped by the same man who always checked my pass. He held out his hand and I gave him my trainer card. He nodded and handed it back to me.

"Can you tell me when the subway to Anville town stops by the station near here?" N asked the man.

"In about a half an hour" the man said in a monotone voice, as he craned his neck to look up at N. I could tell the man didn't like N much, mostly because N stuck around the gate a while when I left, and apparently when I came back he did also.

"Thank you" N said smiling and started walking again.

"Where is Anville town?" I asked, as I had never heard of the place.

"It is on the outskirts of Unova, the only way to get to it is by subway" N said, looking down at me.

"Huh, sounds interesting" I said, looking up at him. Misty's question as to how tall N was crept back into my mind. He was a good foot taller than me, but then again I was rather short at only 5'2". I guessed N was around the six foot mark.

We walked for a while. N asked me how Johto was. I told him it was amazing.

The whole time N never let go of my hand and I realized it was going to be like the last time I came back, where he tried not to let me out of his sight, for fear I would leave again. I smiled to myself.

Soon I saw a building in the distance and as we got closer I realized it was in fact a subway station. Though it more looked like a railroad station. It was really just a small wooden platform with tracks in front of it.

We both walked up to a small glass window where a woman with short brown hair was working.

"Two tickets to Anville town please" N said with a smile and reached into his pocket.

"Okay that'll be-" N shoved an absurd amount of money through the hole in the window before she could tell him how much it cost. She slipped the tickets back through and started to get him some change.

"No need" N said with a smile and turned to give me my ticket.

Her eyes were wide and she grinned at what had to be the largest tip in history.

I took the ticket from N and even a few minutes later was still shocked at how much money N had paid.

He sat down on a wooden bench and motioned for me to also.

"It should be here in about five minutes" he said smiling.

I sat down next to him and he wrapped his arm around me. Pretty soon I heard a loud noise and saw a silver subway heading towards us. N smiled.

"Zorua if you please" he said, holding up a pokeball. Zorua was still perched on N's shoulder and he tapped his nose on the ball, becoming a red blob before he was sucked in. N put the pokeball in his pocket and stood up.

We boarded the subway and picked a seat near the door. It wasn't what I was expecting though, as there was literally no one else on the subway. It was a bit eerie and I wondered if we had gotten on the right car.

"Why isn't there anyone else here?" I questioned.

"Not many people go to Anville town, it's pretty isolated."

I scooted closer to him as the sounds of the tracks mixed with the emptiness started to give me the creeps. He chuckled and pulled me in closer. I did have to admit I felt a lot better with N there and soon relaxed.

We were there in about an hour and exited the subway car to see a beautiful scene. Everything was so green, a shade of green I honestly hadn't seen before. At times N's hair would blend in with the foliage and I would laugh, and he would stare at me, wondering why I was so giggly.

I breathed in and smelled a variety of flowers.

N looked pleased that I apparently liked it.

Anville town was very small, with a population almost as low as my home town. We walked around and saw all the kinds of flowers and plants that were exclusive to this town. It had some of the most beautiful scenery I had ever seen. Anville town also had a complex train station with trains going almost anywhere. Finally after a long but very fun day, we found ourselves sitting on a bench waiting to go back to Nimbasa City.

"Why did you take me here?" I asked, looking up at him.

He shrugged, "This is a beautiful place, and not many people come here, so I figured it would be good for you to see it."

I sighed and rested my head on his shoulder. At first it felt weird to do this with N and not Brock, but after a few seconds it felt normal.

* * *

It was almost pitch black by the time we arrived in Nimbasa City. I rented the same large room I had when I came back the last time and let all my Pokémon out. I went through the motions of getting ready for bed, my mind still on the surprise that I was apparently getting tomorrow.

N crawled through the bedroom window once again, and read a book while I took my shower. When I got out I trudged into the main room still drying my hair with a towel. Talace had once again gone in the other bedroom as he didn't want to be near N. I looked over to see the wall had a large black patch on it.

"What did you guys do while I was in there?" I questioned.

N turned around and closed his book.

"Talace wasn't too happy I was back, and his smoke ball of frustration collided with the wall." N said, smiling to himself, though I could tell it bothered him that Talace still didn't want him around.

I sighed and shook my head walking into the bedroom, making a mental note to get that cleaned.

N kicked off his shoes and closed the door behind him. I brushed my hair while sitting in front of the mirror and watched him as he walked over to wrap his arms round my waist, leaning down to my level.

"I'm glad you're back" N said smiling and looking at my face in the mirror. He rested his chin on my shoulder.

"I am too" I said now also smiling.

He gently kissed my neck before he stood up to walk over to the door to let in Zorua who was patiently sitting outside the door, leaving a tiny shadow.

The small Pokémon ran in and jumped up on the dresser in front of me; I smiled at him.

"So are you staying in here tonight?" I asked.

He barked in approval and I giggled. I set down the brush and picked up Zorua to give him a small kiss on the head before he hopped up to sit on my shoulder. N looked very unhappy and after a while I realized he was jealous of the kiss I gave to Zorua. I chuckled and stood up.

N gave me a confused look, wondering why I was laughing. I walked over and stood on my tip toes to give him a peck on the cheek. He blushed and walked over to climb into bed. Zorua had now climbed on top of my head and I was having to walk slowly to make sure the tiny Pokémon wouldn't fall off.

N smiled and patted the bed next to him. Zorua hopped off of my head and landed on the squishy mattress to start jumping around on it. I crawled in next to N and watched as Zorua played with a wrinkle in the sheets.

N sighed and laid flat. I did the same and rested my head on his chest. We were both very tired but Zorua obviously wasn't, as he romped around on the bed trying to make us get back up. N sighed and reached in his pocket to pull out Zorua's pokeball. He threw it so it rolled towards the door and the dark fox Pokémon flew off the bed after it, tapping it all around the room and finally out the door.

N chuckled and so did I.

"I still want to know what the surprise is you know" I said turning over a little to rest my chin on my hands.

"I know" N said, grinning.

"Why won't you tell me?" I questioned, a little irritated that I couldn't figure it out on my own.

"That would go against the very meaning of the word surprise." N said, playing with a strand of my hair.

I sighed in defeat, 'I guess I will just have to wait till tomorrow then' I thought.

"I hope you like it" N said absentmindedly.

"Well if you tell me what it is, I can tell you whether or not I like it" I said, trying to coax it out of him.

"I'm not falling for that" N said, giving me a wide smile.

I stuck my tongue out at him and flopped down, so I was now lying on my back.

N now propped up on his side.

"Oh, I forgot to ask, how did it go with Ash and Charizard?"

I blinked a few times, getting ready to answer the off the wall question.

"It went really well, they have almost gotten to a point of friendship" I said, smiling at how Charizard still grilled Ash with a flamethrower every time he was let out of his ball.

"Good" N said, nodding to himself. I yawned.

Soon I saw his face over mine, and he placed his hand around my face. I knew he was trying to make up for the missed kiss when I got to Unova due to Zorua. I smiled as he started to lean down, and met him half way, pushing myself off of the bed a bit. He kissed with a passion I hadn't felt before, and I realized he had missed me more than I had thought. Just as I was about to put my arms around his neck I felt a thud on the bed and Zorua pranced over to look at us; thoroughly confused. He barked, no doubt asking what we were doing. I pulled back and N gave off an irritated growl as he flopped back to his back on the bed. We hadn't actually had a kiss that wasn't interrupted yet, whether it was due to Talace, Zorua, or one of us wanting to tell the other something; and this fact frustrated N to no end.

Zorua happily turned around in circles to curl up on N's chest. His irritated look soon disappeared and he smiled down at Zorua.

"I have no idea why he likes to sleep like this" N said, lightly chuckling.

"Your chest makes a good pillow" I said, smiling. He grinned.

I clicked off the light and snuggled down next to N.

"Goodnight sweetheart" N said, pulling me in as close as he could.

"Goodnight N" I said, smiling.

Zorua yipped.

"Goodnight Zorua" we both said in unison, and started laughing.


	26. The Surprise

**Chapter 26... this chapter gave me a tumor... odd example... Anyway, why I say that is because this son of a mother has been sitting on my computer for a week and a half, and I have been changing the wording almost non-stop, and I am still not exactly pleased with it. *sigh***

**But it is time for a chapter, and I don't think messing with it further will help, so I hope this suffices.**

**It is also rather fluffy... ****_IT'S SO FLUFFY! _****That quote still cracks me up every time... anyway**

**Meh, I guess it's okay. I'll stop rambling now so you can read this chapter... which is a little long also... sorry bout that.**

**Anywho, enjoy! :)**

***and sorry for the long authors note also :P***

* * *

_**Chapter 26: The Surprise**_

I woke up the next morning to realize N was gone. I sighed and rolled over. I looked over at the open door and realized I could hear hushed voices. My curiosity getting the best of me I crawled out of bed and walked out the door into the main room, rubbing my eyes.

"White" I heard a familiar voice say. I looked over to see the couch across the room held Bianca and Cheren, the latter of which who was now standing up, happy I was back. N had his back facing me, in the couch opposite theirs. He peeked over the back.

"Good morning White" he said with a smile.

I smiled back and walked over to sit on the arm of the couch N was on. Cheren looked irritated and sat back down.

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked.

"Well, they are a little bit of your surprise" N said. I looked at him skeptically.

N smiled, and Bianca picked up the conversation.

"This is going to be great!" she squealed. Cheren and N both shot her a look, obviously worried she was going to give it away. N turned back to me.

"I am leaving now; I will see you this afternoon. In the meantime Bianca is going to take you shopping, and Cheren is going to come with me." He said smiling.

I scrunched my eyebrows together, confused as to:

A- why Bianca was taking me shopping

B- where were N and Cheren going, and

C- why on Earth were N and Cheren going somewhere together, I mean, Cheren wasn't exactly fond of N in the first place.

"Don't worry it's all part of the surprise. I have explained everything to them, so you are the only one out of the loop" N said with a smile, knowing it still annoyed me to not knowing what this magical surprise was.

Both N and Cheren stood up. N handed Bianca something, and her eyes widened, he gave her a look. N then leaned back down to me to kiss me on the cheek.

"I will see you later darling" he said with a smile. I nodded, still confused, and Cheren fumed all the way to the door. After it shut behind them, Bianca hopped up and grabbed my hand, pulling me towards the door also.

"Wait, where are we going?" I asked.

"Shopping silly" she answered.

"I'm still in my pajamas" I answered, wondering how in five minutes this day could already be so confusing.

"Change then" she said sounding irritated, "Just hurry" she squealed, in a high pitched voice of excitement.

As I got dressed I asked a few questions that might help clear things up.

"Why are we going shopping?" I asked.

"Because we need to buy you something"

"What do I need?" I asked while tying my boots.

"A dress" Bianca said, shaking with excitement. 'And I thought_ I_ liked surprises' I thought to myself.

"Why on Earth do I need a dress" I said making a face. The only time I wore a dress was when I was little and my mom was the one who dressed me up; in other words, I wasn't exactly fond of them.

"For your surprise"

"What?" I said. She was trying to clear things up but it really wasn't working.

She sighed, "Just go along with it" she said, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Fine" I said throwing on my cap.

"Alright let's go" she screeched pulling me towards the door. I quickly returned my Pokémon and slipped them into my pockets.

We made it to a huge shopping mall in Nimbasa City within a few minutes. Bianca dragged me from store to store before she finally found one she liked. She ran around the store, frantically grabbing anything that tickled her fancy. She had always loved dressing me up. She would always get me clothes, and insist I wear them; and she would do my hair too, much to my displeasure. I had thought I would get away from this by growing up and starting my Pokémon journey, but apparently I hadn't. She had always been jealous of my long brown hair and said it was much more fun to dress me up than herself, although she did dress herself up too.

I stood still, watching her blur from one rack to another, making a mental note to murder N the next time I saw him.

"Here" she said happily handing me an overwhelming stack of dresses.

"Are you sure I have to do this?" I questioned, peeking out from behind the pile.

"Yes" she said with a stern expression and pushed me into a dressing room. I sighed and laid out all of the choices. I immediately put well over half of them in a 'no' pile as they were something I would never wear in a million years; though they did look like something Bianca would try on.

I tried a few on, they were very frilly, not anything that I would ever wear. Finally I was down to the last one, the one that I had actually liked a bit and tried it on. I sighed and stepped out of the dressing room for Bianca to see.

"Eeeeeee" she squealed, "White, you look amazing" I rolled my eyes and looked in the mirror and was shocked, I actually didn't look too bad.

It was a rather plain strapless dress that cut off just above my knees. It was tight-fitting but widened a bit at the waist and down. It was made out of two fabrics that were intertwined, one white, and one black.

Soon I saw Bianca's face over my shoulder, looking giddy.

"So are you going to get it?" she asked.

"So you said I _have_ to have a dress?" I asked.

She nodded.

"I guess so then" I said, smiling at my choice, actually liking it, but never admitting it to anyone.

"Okay then" she said, happy with my answer. She pulled out whatever N had given her and took the dress to the checkout after I had changed back. I sighed, now wondering even more what the surprise was. She came back with a bag and handed it to me. I took it and watched as she put the small item back in her bag.

"What did he give you?" I asked.

"Meh, just some money for your outfit" she said smiling.

"So the dress _was_ his idea?" I asked. I had a feeling but knowing Bianca it could've well been hers too.

She nodded, obviously happy.

She then pulled me to some other stores and by the end of a long three hour shopping trip; I had some shoes, and jewelry to match the dress. She dragged me back to my Pokémon center room and plopped me down on the stool in front of the mirror. I looked at her hesitantly.

"What are you doing?" I asked, watching her unbox everything we got.

She giggled and put something over the mirror so I couldn't see. I got even more worried at this. She made me put on the dress and black strappy high heels that she had insisted I get.

"Now, get your hair out of that god-awful ponytail" she demanded.

"Hey" I said, glaring at her.

"You look better with it down" she said shaking a finger at me.

I rolled my eyes and pulled the hairband out. I always had my hair in a ponytail, even when I slept, and I had always known this annoyed Bianca.

For the next hour I sat in the stool, at times almost falling asleep, while she messed with my hair.

Finally after what felt like years she sat back, admiring her work.

"There you go" she said, pulling the sheet off the mirror.

My eyes widened. I looked… good.

She had curled my hair and it hung over my shoulders on both sides, she had also pulled some up in the back, and put some odd looking black oval sparkly thing around it to hold it in place.

"Wow" I quietly said.

"Here" she said, handing me a choker that was black, with a small shining grey jewel hanging down from it.

I made a face, "How much did all this cost?"

"Not important" Bianca sang, putting the tissue paper back into all the shopping bags.

She dashed into the bathroom and a while later returned also wearing a dress. It was pink and strapless but went almost all the way down to the floor.

"Why do we have to get all dressed up?" I questioned, a little worried.

"You'll see" she said.

"Are you sure this wasn't your idea?" I asked.

"Nope it was N's, but I will never miss a chance to wear a dress" she said while twirling around.

I sighed and let her escort me out of my room. I had to make do with what I had for storing pokeballs. I took my belt that held them and strapped it around my thigh, it was rather uncomfortable, but I didn't want to go anywhere without them.

We exited the Pokémon center and I realized there was a large black car in front.

"Come on" Bianca said pulling me towards it. I followed and we climbed in. The minute she shut the door the driver pulled off. I couldn't see the driver however, as there was a separator between us. I looked around the backseat and frowned.

"Why are the windows so dark?" I questioned. You couldn't see a single thing out of any of them.

"N doesn't want you to know where we are going" she answered happily.

"So _you_ know where we are going?" I questioned.

She paused, "Not exactly, but I know _why_ we are going there" she said with a smile.

I thought it was weird that even she didn't know where we were going but I kept quiet.

After a long drive the car finally stopped and Bianca again squealed with excitement. A man opened the door and motioned for us to get out. As we stepped out I realized we were already inside. I didn't know a car could just drive into a house, but apparently it could. The man walked and we followed.

"What time is it?" I questioned Bianca.

She pulled out a small watch, "It is about five" she answered.

I widened my eyes. It had already been seven hours since I had gotten up. We walked quietly and as I looked around, I realized this wasn't a normal house. It had weird paintings on the walls, of people and places that didn't look familiar to me. There were many stone pillars lining where we were walking and the ceiling was so high it was hard to see the top.

I listened to the clicks of both Bianca and my high heels on the white tile floor. I was suddenly nervous as to what would happen next, as this day had already been quite confusing, and I hadn't even made it to the surprise yet.

After what seemed like hours the man stopped in front of two large doors.

Bianca started shaking and I could tell she was excited. The man slowly pushed open the doors a little and motioned us to go through. Bianca went first and pulled me through after her. My eyes widened.

The room was huge, about the size of two football fields put together. There weren't any windows and the walls had intricate designs on them, most of which I couldn't tell what they were. The floor was black and white tile, and in front of me stood two large tables covered with presents.

Bianca walked forward a few feet and turned back to look at me. Cheren was standing near the table on the left, in a suit, a sight I never thought I would see; but what really caught my eye was N who was standing about ten feet in front of me, with a stunned look on his face.

He was also in a suit, it was rather plain, just black with a white shirt and black tie but his green hair accented it perfectly to make him look extremely dapper.

N soon shook his surprise and gracefully walked over to me to grab both of my hands; gently placing his lips on one of them. He straightened up after a moment.

"Happy Birthday love" he said beaming down at me.

'Wait' I thought, 'what day is today?' After a moment of thought my eyes widened, 'oh my god I forgot my own birthday' I thought to myself, mentally banging my head against the wall. Birthdays had never meant much to me, and I had figured since I was out on my own now, I just simply wouldn't celebrate them.

I felt my face flush and I smiled.

N smiled back.

"You look absolutely stunning" he said eyeing me up and down.

I blushed, "Thank you N, you look very handsome yourself"

He blushed also and smiled.

We were quiet for a moment, just staring into each other's' eyes before Bianca broke the silence.

"Your surprise is a surprise party!" she squealed dancing in place.

I laughed as she pointed out the obvious and Cheren shook his head.

N leaned back and motioned to someone and a large crowd of people entered the room from the opposite side, to walk towards us.

My eyes widened, and I grabbed onto N's arm.

"Who are all these people?" I asked.

"Just some friends" he said. I made a face.

"In other words…" I started a sentence and waited for him to finish it.

He smiled, "they are Team Plasma" he said, uttering the words I figured he would.

I looked to the left as a man in a white suit wheeled out a large cake with candles on it. My eyes widened. It looked more like a wedding cake than a birthday cake. Soon the large crowd of people, including N, Cheren, and Bianca began to sing happy birthday. I blushed, and waited until they were through.

"Make a wish love" N said.

I didn't know what to wish for honestly, but after a few moments settled on one. I blew out all the candles and everyone clapped. N leaned down and kissed me on the cheek.

I heard a sound and some music began to play. The people all spread themselves throughout the room and began to dance with one another.

N held out his arm and waited for me to take it. I paused, I was absolutely terrible at dancing, and wasn't so sure this was a good idea. After a minute of contemplation I hesitantly took his arm and he grinned.

He swiftly brought me out into the crowd and held out his hand. I hesitantly took it and he spun me around before I was facing him. He gently placed his hand on my hip and I put my left hand on his shoulder, my right hand still clasped in his.

"N I'm really not much of a dancer" I said as he started to sway back and forth.

He chuckled, "I'll lead" he said, smiling down at me, his eyes sparkling.

Much to my surprise N was an amazing dancer, and he was able to make it look like I was a good dancer too, even though he was mostly just pulling me around to follow him. I caught a glimpse out of the corner of my eye of Cheren and Bianca dancing together. Cheren was glaring at N and I mentally shook my head.

Soon the tempo slowed and N slowed also.

"So do you like it?" he questioned.

"Like what?" I asked.

"Your party" he answered, pulling me in a little closer.

"Yeah" I replied with a smile. I hadn't expected to like a birthday party, but so far it was pretty fun. I realized I had already been here for almost a half an hour, even though it felt like I stepped through those doors only a minute ago.

"Good" he said, nodding to himself; slowly rocking from one side to the other.

I looked around the room.

"Where are we?" I asked.

N smiled, "Welcome to my home White"

My eyes widened and my eyebrows shot up.

"This is where you live?" I questioned.

He nodded. I then remembered that he was in fact supposed to be a king, and I figured then that this large house/mansion/castle would be fitting.

"So who told you today was my birthday?" I questioned.

"Bianca" he answered.

'Who else' I thought to myself.

"Everyone should have a birthday party" N said, "especially when you are turning sixteen" he smiled.

I had forgotten this birthday was a big one and laid my head on N's chest.

"Thank you N" I said.

"You're welcome sweetheart" he said with a smile showing through in his voice.

I brought my arms down and laid my hands on his chest along with my head, and he wrapped his arms around my waist, all the while still swaying to the slow music.

I sighed, utterly content in the moment.

After about a half an hour of dancing N looked over my shoulder and gave someone a signal, the music slowed to a stop and all the people dancing cleared to the edges of the room. N took my hand and led me back to where I had entered.

Several people pushed in large white circular tables and soon everyone was assigned a seat. Waiters came around and gave everyone a slice of cake.

"N you really didn't need to do all this" I said watching as the waiters bustled around giving everyone a plate.

"I know, but I wanted to" he smiled sitting in the seat to my left, and handed me a fork. I took a bite of the cake.

"Wow this is delicious" I said swallowing.

N chuckled, "Good" he said as he took a small bite of his own. I still couldn't get over how good N looked in his suit; and by the way he kept looking at me, he couldn't get over how good I looked either.

Bianca was sitting to my right and Cheren was on the other side of her, both also eating cake.

"Cheren you look very good in a suit too" I said, turning to look over at Cheren. His eyes widened and I could tell I had caught him off guard. He blushed and looked to the side before glancing back at me.

"Thank you White, you look beautiful tonight also" he said.

I smiled and thanked him before taking another bite.

After about an hour of music; and some people dancing again the crowd began to thin and after a while, only Bianca, Cheren, N, and I were left.

It was rather quiet and it was broken by a shriek from Bianca.

"Presents" she exclaimed.

Cheren and N smiled and both walked over to carry one of the tables closer to where I was sitting. They both sat back down. I looked at the tall piles of gifts and started to have doubts.

"Who are all these from?" I asked.

"Well one is from Cheren" N started.

"And the rest are from me!" Bianca squealed. I widened my eyes.

"You bought all of these?" I questioned.

She nodded, "With the help of N's credit card, that is" she said smiling.

I whipped my head around to look at N who nodded.

I shook my head and began to unwrap everything. She had given me a plethora of clothes and shoes. I smiled and chuckled to myself at a typical Bianca. Soon we were down to one present and Cheren handed it to me. I saw his name on the tag and ripped it open. It was a book on Pokémon.

"You can't ever put the one you have down, so I figured I would get you one that was a little more recent" he said smiling.

The one I used now I had gotten when I was about eight, and the pages were very worn from all the reading. I leaned over and gave him a hug.

"Thanks Cheren" I said. It was definitely my favorite present of the night, despite how many Bianca had given.

"Well thank you guys" I said, stuffing the wrapping paper into one of the bags.

"There is one more" N said. I turned to him looking surprised.

"Oh come on, you didn't think I wouldn't get you a gift did you?" he questioned.

I smiled, as he reached into his suit to pull out a small black box and handed it to me. I looked down at it, a little bit confused. It definitely held a ring, and I quickly glanced up at N to make sure he wasn't getting down on one knee or something insane like that. He smiled and nodded for me to open it.

As it clicked open my eyes widened and my mouth dropped open a little. It was a very small ring, orange in color but something seemed to be moving inside of it. I carefully picked it up and looked at it closer to see it looked to be fire. I glanced at N to see if I was right.

"It is a ring made out of a fire stone" N said smiling. I looked back at the ring, it was the right color to be a fire stone, but I wondered why there were things flickering inside of it.

N continued, "But in the middle there" he said, pointing around the small band, "it is actually preserved fire, still burning"

My eyes widened even further, something I didn't think was possible. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, and I could tell N gave a lot of effort in picking it out. I loved fire Pokémon, and he had used that fact to get me the perfect gift.

"Wow" I whispered still examining it.

N took it out of my hands and placed it around my right hand ring finger.

"So do you like it?" he questioned, looking a little nervous at my lack of words.

"I love it" I said, my eyes shimmering.

He looked proud and leaned over to kiss me on the forehead.

"So romantic" Bianca said, looking like she was getting choked up.

After that Bianca, N, Cheren, and I walked out, me holding a large bag filled with presents, and got into into the same car I had come in.

After a long drive, we arrived in front of the Pokémon center and climbed out. I wondered where N lived exactly, I had seen the inside, but not the outside, and had no idea where we went because of the pitch black windows. Though I had a feeling N didn't want me to know.

N and I walked back to my room. Cheren and Bianca both rented separate rooms, and I hugged both of them, thanking them for an amazing evening.

I pushed open the door and set my bag down on the couch. It was about eight now and I yawned.

N shut the door behind him and loosened his tie.

"Why did you want everyone to dress up?" I questioned slipping off the belt around my leg.

"I thought it would be more formal and elegant that way" he said, unbuttoning his cuffs and smiled, "plus, I wanted to see you in a dress"

I chuckled and pulled off my high heels. I walked into the bedroom and shut the door so I could change. After I was in my pajamas and my hair was back in its usual ponytail, I walked out into the main room where N was back in his normal clothes, his suit lying on the couch. I walked over and brushed a wrinkle out of it. I really liked that suit, and hoped I would see him in it again. I looked up to see N who was rolling up the sleeves to his white shirt.

I let out all my Pokémon and soon they were all settling down to sleep, all but Talace that was. He slowly walked over to me and grunted. I looked to N.

"He says happy birthday" he clarified.

I turned to Talace and smiled. "Thank you" I said, a bit perplexed as to how Talace knew today was my birthday.

Talace brought out his hand from behind his back and handed me a small pink flower.

My eyes widened and I took it. "When did you get this?" I asked.

He snorted.

"He says he got it this morning while you were sleeping"

I internally frowned that Talace had gone outside without me but soon was smiling, my heart swelling with love for my Pokémon who had gone out of his way to get me a gift.

"You're amazing Talace" I said wrapping my arms around my giant Emboar.

He snorted and I could tell he was happy I liked the flower. He put his arm around me too, careful not to crush me.

I pulled back and Talace slowly walked into the other bedroom, glaring at N as he walked away. I felt tears in my eyes at the sweet gesture my Pokémon had given but they soon went away.

N smiled, "You two are really close" he said, sounding like he was almost in awe.

I nodded and poured a glass of water to set the flower in.

N let Zorua out before we both went to bed. The small fox Pokémon seemed content with staying outside of the room today, so N closed the door behind us. I crawled into bed, still sitting up, once again admiring the ring.

"Where did you get this?" I questioned.

"I had it made" N said climbing in beside me.

I widened my eyes, realizing the trouble N must've gone through to get the ring. I put my hands around his face and gave him a peck on the lips. I pulled back but he caught my waist and brought me back in until his lips were pressing against mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck and began to kiss him back. Our lips moved in perfect unison for a while before we broke apart for air. My head was spinning and my heart was pounding, and looking at N, realized he felt the same. We were still just inches apart and he sighed, apparently happy we had had our first uninterrupted kiss.

"I love you White" he said, looking into my eyes.

"I love you too N" I said, intently staring back.

He pulled me in for a hug and after a while laid down on his side, still in a tight embrace. I pulled my arms in and snuggled into his chest, as his arms encircled me.

"Happy Birthday White" he murmured.

"Thank you N" I answered, sighing in contentment.

"Goodnight sweetheart" he cooed.

"Goodnight N" I said nuzzling closer to him.

He clicked off the light and I quickly fell asleep, with nothing but happy thoughts on my mind, mostly about the birthday I would definitely never forget.


	27. The Meeting of Many Powers

**So here is Chapter 27. I again apologize for the length. The first part may be a little slow, but I personally think it picks up. **

**Yes, how I portray Ghetsis is a little odd, but I wanted to add something to his character so it would be a little bit more of a shock when he changes at the end. **

**Anywho, enjoy! :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 27: The Meeting of Many Powers**_

I woke up the next morning to something tickling my face; I figured it was a bug so I tried to stay still but after a while scrunched my nose trying to shake off the itch. I felt something press against my mouth and opened my eyes to realize N was gently kissing me. I softly kissed him back and soon he pulled away. I rubbed my eyes and scratched my nose which turned out to be tickling because of N's hair.

"Sorry, you are just so cute when you're sleeping" N said with a smile.

I smiled back, and yawned, looking over at the clock. I slowly got out of bed and trudged over to my bag to pull out my clothes.

"So what's on tab for today?" N questioned leaning back on the headboard, his hands behind his head.

"Um" I said groggily, "I was actually wanting to head on over to Driftveil City today" I said slowly pulling on my vest.

"Then Driftveil it is!" N said with a smile.

I gave him a confused look. He was very chipper today and I wondered why. Then I realized it must be because of how well yesterday went. I smiled to myself and looked down at my new ring, which was still flickering.

N's smile got even bigger as he watched me carefully inspect his present.

After about an hour my Pokémon and I were ready to go. I returned all of them and N held open the door for me to leave. We had just exited the Pokémon center when I heard a buzz. N pulled out his ringing X-transceiver and sighed.

Whoever it was talked for a while, and N intently listened. I assumed it was Ghetsis and waited patiently. After a while N nodded and hung up.

He looked over to me sadly, "I have to go"

I nodded, figuring that would be the outcome.

"I'll meet you in Driftveil" he said leaning over and giving me a peck on the cheek.

"Okay" I answered.

He smiled and reluctantly turned to walk away.

I remembered that Elesa had said if I wanted to go to Driftveil to check in with her and she could help me, so I trudged down to the gym. She was in the middle of a battle so I left a message with her assistant, and he said she would head over right afterwards, and to go ahead and go on without her.

I headed to the far East side of the town and was about to enter the terminal when I heard a voice from behind me.

"White!"

I turned around to see Cheren running towards me.

"Hi Cheren" I said smiling, "Where's Bianca?"

"I don't know, she ran off somewhere this morning. Are you going to Driftveil too?" he asked, catching his breath.

"Yup" I said smiling.

"Cool, we can go together then" he smiled back and we walked into the terminal. Once again I watched the scrolling yellow letters, saying it was sunny most everywhere. I wondered if Unova ever had bad weather. We passed through to the other side and saw a sign that said route 5.

"Elesa's assistant said to wait here" I said, walking a few feet into the grass.

"While we are waiting we could try and catch some Pokémon, I hear there are some unique kinds here on route 5" Cheren said, looking around.

We searched and after about a half an hour I had caught myself a Minccino, a Solosis, a Trubbish, and an Emolga. I wondered if they had been transferred successfully to Professor Oak and made a mental note to call him and check.

"Hey guys" I heard a feminine voice say. Cheren and I turned around and saw Elesa walking towards us.

We both smiled.

"You guys ready?" she asked. We nodded. After a few minutes of walking I could see a large drawbridge in the distance. My eyes widened, it was huge.

"Well if it isn't Elesa" we heard a voice say to our right. We all turned and I saw a tall man with orange and red hair walking towards us. He had six pokeballs hanging on a string around his neck and was wearing what looked to be a poncho. The man stopped and stood in front of us smiling. Cheren looked to Elesa.

"And this is…." he started to ask.

"Oh, this is Alder, the Champion of the Unova region."

Both Cheren and my eyes widened and I let out a cough, choking on the surprise. Wow, so he was the Unova champion, I looked him up and down, trying to memorize everything about him since I planned on one day challenging him to a battle.

"He's the Champion?" Cheren sputtered before regaining his composure, "And what is the champion doing frolicking around in a place like this?" he asked.

"Hey, I heard that" Alder said, looking a little bit offended, "You're one harsh lad aren't ya?" he said looking Cheren up and down.

Cheren looked embarrassed but soon a smile spread across Alder's face.

"Hi I'm Alder" he said extending his hand to me. I shook it and he then shook Cheren's hand. "And for your information I'm not frolicking, I'm questing." He said looking proud. I was still in awe at meeting the champion but was confused at his off the wall personality.

"My name is Cheren." Cheren started, "As a trainer it is my goal to be Champion but-"

"Adventuring with a goal is an admirable thing!" Alder said with his booming voice, cutting Cheren off mid-sentence.

"So what do you plan on doing after you become champion kiddo?" Alder asked Cheren.

"Well, uh" he stammered, "is there really anything beyond seeking power? I mean, the Champion is the most powerful trainer, isn't that basically as far as you can go?" Cheren questioned, but it sounded more like a statement.

"Hmmm, getting stronger and stronger huh?" Alder said scratching his chin. "Wonder if that is such a good goal to have." He glanced over at Cheren who looked a little bit angry at Alder telling him his goal wasn't good.

"Well I won't shoot down your ideas of course" he said waving his hand around in the air, as if he was clearing the tension, "Different strokes for different folks as I always say" he said with a smile.

I smiled. I kind of liked this man, he had a fun personality.

"So I let people live with Pokémon how they see fit" Alder said smiling at Cheren who still looked a bit stunned.

Just then a couple of kids ran by, giggling and playing with each other. Alder watched them and smiled.

"I think we all stand to learn something from the innocence of children" he said walking over and picking one up to muss up his hair. "What are you scamps up to?" he asked, laughing.

Alder reminded me of a kid himself, so care free and fun. The children were laughing with him and soon he put the boy down and they ran away.

Alder sighed and turned back to us, "You see son" Alder looked to Cheren, "There are guys like you who seek strength, and there are guys like them" he said motioning to where the children had been "who are simply happy just being with Pokémon. There are all kinds of people I tell you, and all kinds of answers. We seem to have two different ideas of what it means to be Champion, but you keep thinking yours anyway."

Alder smiled at all of us, his eyes finally landing on me. He gave us a loose salute and walked away.

Cheren looked a bit puzzled. I was still just in awe, but had taken what Alder had said very seriously.

"Anyway, on to that drawbridge" Elesa said and pulled out something that looked like a walkie talkie, she waited for a while before I heard a buzz.

"It's me, lower the drawbridge. There are some trainers who want to challenge you." She paused and I heard a voice.

"Thanks" she said and shoved the thing back into her pocket and pointed at the bridge. "Now watch"

I turned my gaze to the red bridge that slowly began moving. It creaked and groaned as it slowly lowered and snapped into place, creating a flat walkway.

"Alrighty, there you go" Elesa said smiling; "The gym leader in Driftveil is a bit of an old timer but do your best" she said with a wink and headed back towards Nimbasa.

Cheren and I crossed the bridge, I expected it to take longer than it did, but then again I had managed to cross Skyarrow Bridge and that thing was a monster. Oddly enough I caught a Ducklett on that bridge, so to me the trip was justified. After about fifteen minutes we stepped off of the bridge and our feet hit grass on the other side.

I heard a low voice come from my left and looked over to see a man moseying over to us. He was wearing a cowboy hat and brown chaps.

"So are ya the two trainers Elesa was talkin bout?" he questioned with his thick southern accent.

We both nodded.

"Well I'm Clay, the gym leader in this here town. I guess I gotta welcome ya then. Anyway, because I let down that there bridge some Team Plasma grunts we caught fled into town" he looked very unhappy and I realized he was blaming us.

"Well I was just thinkin, but I I reckon you two should go find them pesky people. You're some real go getter trainers aren't ya?" he asked, raising one eyebrow. He turned and started to walk away before we had time to answer.

"And after ya do that, you can come challenge me and my gym. Life's a give and take." he said, now disappearing behind a building. I sighed and realized we didn't have much of a choice now.

"He didn't have to demand we find them you know." Cheren said looking a bit irritated.

"Come on, let's go" I said putting my hand on his shoulder. He nodded and we started walking.

'Man, my days are really starting to get interesting' I thought to myself, realizing I hadn't had a normal day in almost a week.

We walked all around town trying to find anywhere that would be a good hiding place for Team Plasma.

"You don't think they could be in there do you?" Cheren asked pointing to a large storage space. We had made our way down to a place called 'Cold Storage' and were about to leave when Cheren asked his question. I looked up and realized it would be a perfect place for them to hide.

"I don't really like the cold, but let's check it out" Cheren said grabbing one of the handles to the metal door. I grabbed the other and we pulled open the doors with a loud screech. Cheren helped me into it and he climbed in after me. We started walking, it was very dark and the sound of our footsteps echoed loudly in the metal box.

"You pansies" I heard a voice say in an irritated tone. I jumped and grabbed onto Cheren who placed himself in front of me in a protective manner.

"Bundle me up all you want, the cold doesn't bother me" the same voice said. I blinked a few times before a light turned on and we were able to see.

"Wow they were hidden really deep" Cheren said.

The man that had been speaking was sitting near the back. He had a cape on and had a grey beard. He looked very regal and I wondered who he could be. Surrounding him were numerous Team Plasma grunts, wearing the same blue and black outfits they always did.

"Man it's cold in here" Cheren said shivering. I stepped out from behind him looking closer at the grunts. They seemed shocked when they saw me, and I finally made the connection that they had been at my party last night. I blushed and looked away.

"We couldn't like, lead them outside could we?" Cheren questioned, shivering again.

"We're holding onto Pokémon that are friends of the king" the regal looking man said.

My head snapped up to look at the man. They were holding Pokémon for N?

"You won't harm them here." The man said turning to the grunts, "Now, give those brats a beating"

I had been waiting for the moment when we would battle and it didn't surprise me much; but my mind was still on N and what Pokémon they had for him here. I smiled when I realized that the man had called them friends of the king. 'Yup that sounds like N' I thought to myself.

Cheren and I easily beat all twenty of the grunts and left them all looking stunned and scared.

Suddenly I heard the sound of footsteps behind me. I whirled around to see Clay standing with two men, one on either side of him.

"Whoa there" he said, smiling, "So ya were hidin out here in the freezing place then" Clay said, addressing the grunts, looking amused.

"Take em away boys" he said.

"Roger" Both the men said and proceeded to drag away the grunts and the other man, not without a protest though. Clay turned back to us.

"Well a promise is a promise. Y'all can come and challenge my gym anytime you want" he said and walked out of the large cube.

"Well I'm going to the Pokémon center" Cheren said as we both walked out.

I nodded, "I think I will stay around here for a while" I said smiling. Cheren nodded and walked off. I hopped down from the large crate and looked around at the other large bins. I sat down against one of them and pulled out a sandwich.

'Man it's weird running into Team Plasma now that N and I are so close' I thought to myself. I heard a small jingle to my left and looked over to see something blue out of the corner of my eye. I squinted and realized it looked like a Pokémon. I stayed still and soon the small thing was in clear view. I smiled, it was a Vanillite. It hesitantly and slowly made its way over to me until it was only a few feet away. It made a tinkling sound again and I realized it was interested in my sandwich. I pinched off a piece and handed it to the small thing. It hesitantly took it, never breaking eye contact with me and ate it quietly.

It smiled and jingled some more dancing around in a circle. 'I guess I'm not the only one who likes sandwiches then' I thought to myself.

I pinched off another bite and handed it to the small Pokémon.

"Here you go"

It smiled and quickly ate it. After I was through with the sandwich I stood up. I decided not to catch it as it was so sweet and slowly walked off. The tiny thing looked sad and after a while I realized it was following me. I bent down and looked at it, a confused look on my face. It looked a bit scared.

"Are you wanting to come along with me?" I questioned.

A wide smile spread across its face and the Vanillite nodded.

"Okay then" I said fishing out a pokeball and holding it out in front of the Vanillite. It tapped the ball and disappeared inside. The ball rocked for a minute before the dot went white, and the ball disappeared into thin air. I smiled, making a note to transfer it back. I walked to the edge of cold storage, and out into the town. Soon I could see the gym, and after I got closer I realized someone was standing out front talking to Clay. I squinted and realized it was Ghetsis. My eyes widened and I creeped behind a building. I peeked out from behind it; I was just barely close enough to hear what they were saying.

"Hello Mr. Clay, I am Ghetsis of Team Plasma. I see you have taken some of my own" I smiled as I obviously was getting to hear the conversation from the beginning.

I still wasn't sure what I thought of Ghetsis' voice. It was gravely and stern, but had a certain appeal. I snapped myself out of my thoughts and turned my attention back to the conversation.

"No need ta thank me" Clay said with a smirk. "Yer members were stealin Pokémon after all"

Ghetsis looked surprised, "There must be some misunderstanding, we are merely freeing Pokémon from evil people" he said with an innocent look on his face.

"So that's what yur goin with huh?" Clay said, looking unamused. "I ain't too good with words, and on the other hand you are quite fancy with em, but they reek of lies" he said squinting at Ghetsis.

Ghetsis' face flashed a look of anger but soon returned to its calm state.

"So what'd ya mean ta say?" Clay asked.

Ghetsis sighed, "Team Plasma has an interest in Driftveil City, there are many people that are only to be found here"

Clay looked skeptical but soon spoke, "I don't know if that's a lie or truth….." he paused, "but it's always best ta come to a victory without having to fight it." He glared at Ghetsis and then shrugged. "Alright then, take em back if you want"

Ghetsis smiled, "Just as I suspected from the one they call the King of the Hills. A magnificent decision maker indeed." I looked over to see the crowd of grunts slowly walk out of the gym, followed by the more important man.

"Allow me to talk to that Sage there" Ghetsis said, pointing at the man.

The regal looking man slowly walked till he was in front of Ghetsis, he bowed and looked frightened; I didn't blame him.

"Lord Ghetsis, thank you so much" he said, closing his eyes, looking like he was waiting to get hit.

My eyes widened, 'Lord Ghetsis' that was new.

Much to my surprise Ghetsis smiled down at the man.

"Oh, it's fine Zinzolin" he said. "We're working for the king together, are we both not Sages?"

Ghetsis looked around, "Well then, until the day we meet again."

The grunts and the man who was apparently named Zinzolin dispersed and Clay mumbled to himself to then return into the gym. I watched as Ghetsis didn't move.

"You do know I can see you right?" he said looking amused, slowly turning his gaze to where I was peeking out from behind the building.

My eyes widened not sure to just stay still or acknowledge that I had heard him. Finally I sighed, stepped out from behind the building and walked up to Ghetsis. He was a very frightening man, but he seemed to be in a good mood, unlike the last time I had seen him.

"It's not polite to eavesdrop White" he said his lips twitching into a smile.

I wasn't sure if I was shocked more at the fact that he had said my name, or that he was smiling.

I looked at the ground and he chuckled, putting one finger under my chin to lift it up. My stomach churned at his touch, it was nothing like N's.

"I hear you have gotten to be quite the trainer" Ghetsis said, an unusually pleasant look on his face.

I looked around, not sure what to say.

"You know you could be very useful to me" he said, thinking.

My eyes widened, wondering what he was hinting at, but my mind was still focused on how repulsive his touch was.

He looked back into my eyes and smiled.

"You could be very useful to Team Plasma" he said grinning.

I was very uncomfortable and wondered if I could outrun him.

He leaned in closer.

"Your power mixed with mine, we could make a great team" he said, his red eye flicking back and forth to both of mine, an evil grin on his face.

I still didn't know what to say and just stood still, waiting for him to ask a question so I would be forced to answer.

He looked saddened that I wasn't talking and his smile disappeared.

"If you would join Team Plasma, we could revolutionize the way people think, we could rule the world as we know it" he said, smirking, his single red eye glistening, imagining what he had said.

'What?' I thought. 'Rule the world? Where the heck did that come from? Team Plasma wants to liberate Pokémon, not rule the world.' I carefully mulled over his words, and realized that what Ghetsis said could be translated into what N's goal was; revolutionizing the way people think, that sounded like something N would say. I then realized Ghetsis was in fact asking me to join Team Plasma, and possibly, though I didn't know because of the weird way he worded his statement, have me rule alongside him, or N, or whoever, by now I was very confused but my confusion soon turned to anger.

I tore my face away from his finger that was still lifting up my chin.

"I would never consider joining Team Plasma" I growled.

He looked hurt and straightened up. His face turned back to being serious and a slight smiled soon appeared.

"Very well then. I had a feeling that would be your answer…" he paused, "unfortunately" he said under his breath.

It was awkward around Ghetsis. I knew he knew N and I were a thing, and that just made things very uncomfortable. Plus, with him being so angry at me last time, I was waiting for him to bring it up, but he hadn't so far.

He sighed, "I should be on my way"

I nodded and waited for him to leave but he didn't.

"I'm glad you and N cleared things up since the last time we met" he said, sounding almost embarrassed.

"Yeah" I said quietly.

He sighed and started to leave, sensing I didn't want him there; but turned back to me.

"I just wish you would stop messing with his emotions"

My head snapped up and looked him straight in the eyes before he turned.

"Wait" I said grabbing onto his cloak. He turned back around, looking at me questioningly. "What do you mean messing with his emotions?" I asked.

He raised his eyebrows, "Well, N seems to have some strong feelings towards you, and depending on where he is in accordance to you reflects how he feels" Ghetsis explained, still not making much sense.

"What?" I again questioned.

Ghetsis sighed. "When you left a while back, N went into a depression. When you returned and whatever spat you two had cleared up, he was again happy" he paused and made a face, "happier than I have ever seen N before. Then you left again, going goodness knows where, and he was saddened, and now that you have come back, he is again happy." Ghetsis looked off to the side and then back down to me, "N used to be a man of very few emotions, and none of them were very strong, other than his love for Pokémon that is" Ghetsis explained, "But since he has met you he now has a large span of emotions, all very strong."

He looked back down at me. "I just wish you would stop playing with his feelings, and leave him be." He said with a stern look. "You are going to end up hurting him, and I'm not sure what will happen after that" he said, his tone turning angry and he turned once again to walk away. I had a gut feeling Ghetsis didn't really care about what N felt; he was just saying what he thought he should. But I shoved it out of my mind.

"I'm not going to hurt him" I said loudly.

"Oh really?" Ghetsis said turning back around to me.

"I love him, and I wouldn't do anything to hurt him." I said, a serious expression on my face.

Ghetsis looked shocked, "You love him?"

I nodded.

He looked perplexed, "He said he loved her, but I never thought the feeling would be mutual" Ghetsis whispered to himself.

"Well I guess I've now seen everything" Ghetsis said chuckling. I glared at him.

"Very well then, just remember White, N is different, he doesn't process thoughts or feelings like a normal person." Ghetsis paused and looked up.

"Just be careful with him." Ghetsis said, his voice void of any emotion.

I watched as he walked away, my vision blurred with anger. 'How dare him to tell me those things. I love N more than he ever could, and I wouldn't _ever_ do _anything_ to hurt him; and I already knew N was different, I still hadn't put my finger on exactly how, but I knew he was special.

I took a deep breath and cleared my thoughts; after all it didn't matter what Ghetsis said, he was so oblivious he didn't even know I loved N back. I smiled at thought of N.

I walked towards the Pokémon center, now looking up at the quickly darkening sky. After a few minutes my mind was completely off of Ghetsis, and onto N.

I looked down at my ring, smiling and thought to myself, 'How can two people that are so closely related, be such polar opposites?'


	28. The Fifth Badge Rumble

**Chapter 28... holy Skuntank this one is long. It actually isn't much longer than the past two, but ya know. **

**Lots of things happen... yay, and I again am not too sure about the wording; my brain seems to have gone kaput lately so yeah.**

**The Fifth Badge Rumble... because it is a ground type gym... and it's like an earthquake... hah! *Laughs shamelessly at her own lame joke***

**Anywho, I hope you enjoy! :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 28: The Fifth Badge Rumble**_

I had rented a larger room again in the Pokémon center. Apparently every center had one; I just hadn't realized it before. I sat down on the couch, wondering when N would arrive, I hoped soon. Since I had talked to Ghetsis I just wanted to give N a hug. I was brought out of my thoughts by a rattle and realized N was struggling to open the window.

I smiled and quickly walked over to open it for him.

"Thanks" he said, smiling as he climbed in, shutting it behind him. The minute he turned back around I tackled him in a bear hug.

"Oof" he grunted, stumbling back a few feet, catching himself before he fell.

He hugged me back, "Well someone's happy to see me" he said with a smile in his voice.

I nodded against his chest. He gently picked me up and sat down on the couch with me in his lap. He looked worried.

"What's wrong White?" he questioned.

I wasn't normally this affectionate and he picked up on that.

"I just missed you" I said, my voice muffled by his shirt. This was true, but I decided to leave out the whole Ghetsis bit.

N smiled and hugged me back tightly. Finally after a while I pulled away and stood up. N watched intently as I let out all of my Pokémon except for Scolipede. I walked over to the corner where there was a built in phone and transporter, something handy about having a larger room. I dialed Professor Oak's number and soon his face flashed onto the screen.

"Oh hello White, how is everything in Unova?" he smiled.

I was surprised that he knew I was in Unova and he took note.

"I got quite a few Pokémon from you today, so I figured you went back" he chuckled, "Would you like to transfer any of them?" he questioned.

"Yes actually" I said, placing Scolipede's ball on the machine and pressing the red transfer button.

"Alright I got him safely" Oak said calling out the gigantic creature.

"Oh wow, he is bigger than I imagined" Professor Oak said as Scolipede's head hit the ceiling.

I chuckled, "And who would you like to have now?" Oak asked.

"My Vanillite please" I said smiling.

"Coming right up" he replied wheeling off the screen. In a moment he was back and transferred a pokeball to me.

"Thanks" I said, grinning.

"You're welcome White, don't ever hesitate to call" he said with a smile and the screen clicked black.

"Oh so you have a Vanillite?" N questioned leaning forward to put his elbows on his knees.

"Yup, I just caught it today."

I looked around at my Pokémon, "Alright guys, ready to meet your new friend?"

They all gathered and Talace lumbered out of the other bedroom to stand near the corner eyeing N intently.

"Come on out" I called and the small ice cream cone Pokémon appeared.

It smiled up at me and when it saw all the other large Pokémon around it gave out a jingle of fright.

"Oh it's okay" I said, "these are all my other Pokémon, I would love it if you all made friends" I said smiling.

Pretty soon after the introductions were over Vanillite settled down next to Sigilyph, as they had become the closest in the short mingling time.

I yawned and suggested we go to bed. N agreed and followed me into the bedroom.

* * *

The next morning I woke up extremely early, I was very excited about challenging Clay's gym and so it wasn't so weird that I was awake this early. To my surprise N, an early bird, was still asleep. I slowly slid out of bed, careful not to wake him up. I smiled; he looked so calm when he was sleeping. I leaned down and gently kissed his cheek. He didn't wake up but I saw his mouth twitch.

I quickly got dressed and took Talace out to do some training. I still completely relied on Talace for winning me matches, and I realized that was risky, but I had faith in him.

"Now, Clay is a ground type gym leader" I started, "And you are weak to ground moves"

Talace growled, again not happy at me saying he was weak to anything.

"You just have to make sure you stand your ground. We can't let anything catch us off guard." I said, smiling. Talace nodded and we began training. I had contemplated teaching Talace a move or two by TM that would cover his glaring weakness to ground types, but I decided not to, as Talace was very proud of his current moveset.

I had practiced with Talace for about an hour when I knew we both felt confident going into our battle. I returned him and heard a voice from behind me.

"White"

I turned around to see N running towards me. I smiled, but scrunched my eyebrows together when I realized he looked worried. I waited for him to slow to a stop but he didn't, plowing into me to lift me up into a tight hug. I hesitantly patted his back.

"What's wrong N?" I questioned.

"I didn't know where you were" he breathed, stroking my hair.

I frowned; wondering why that had him worried, but realized he must've thought I had left again. I sighed and rested my chin on his shoulder.

He soon set me down and took a deep breath.

"So what are you doing out here?"

"I was just getting a little training with Talace in before I challenge the gym." I said smiling.

"Oh yes, I forgot you were planning on doing that today" he said, a smile now covering his face.

"I'm actually heading there now" I said, checking to make sure my bag which was lying on the ground, still had all six pokeballs inside.

N and I walked over to the gym; I stared at the front of it, my hands shaking with excitement.

"Alright, good luck sweetheart" N said, bending down to kiss me on the cheek. "I'll be waiting" he said sitting down on a bench outside the gym.

I nodded and entered.

It was a large square room; it was also unusually cold and in looking at the walls, which apparently were made of dirt, figured that was why.

"Hey there" I heard the man who always greeted me at the beginning of a gym say. I smiled.

"As soon as you come into town everything seems to go haywire." He chuckled, "There is something special about you" he said, his sentence trailing off towards the end.

"Anyway, Clay is the gym leader, but you already knew that. All you got to do is use the elevators to get to him" he said motioning towards a small platform.

"Thanks" I said. He nodded and walked away. I walked forward onto the platform, the minute I was completely on, it shot upwards. I grabbed onto the railing. When it came to a halt I saw another platform and stepped onto it which also shot upwards, and then another which plummeted down. Finally I made it to one that looked different than the others, I hesitantly stepped on and it slowly started moving towards the ground, it picked up speed and went into a hole. It was suddenly very dark and I was starting to get the creeps when it slowed to a stop, with a door in front of me. I opened it and saw Clay standing on the other side of the room.

'Good' I sighed to myself; I was going in the right direction.

I walked out onto an interesting battlefield, with glowing green crystals all around.

"Well then, I'm glad ya made it White" Clay said with a smile.

"Elesa seemed to take a likin to ya, guess I should take a look see at your talent as well" he said grinning.

"Go Krokorok" he called and a large tan and black alligator appeared. It still surprised me how fast the gym leaders let out their Pokémon, but I guess a gym leader has to get right down to business.

"Alright Talace, it's up to you" I said and my Emboar stood at the ready in minutes sizing up his opponent.

'Alright' I quickly thought to myself 'fire attacks won't do much against a ground type, but Krokorok is a dark type also, so his fighting move should work well'.

"Okay Krokorok, Bulldoze" Clay called.

The alligator jumped into the air to twirl in a tight ball and come hurtling towards Talace.

"Alright, Arm thrust and use his momentum" Talace nodded and waited until the last second to step ever so slightly to the side, and slam both of his fists into the tightly curled Krokorok, sending him into the wall. The combined speed of him rolling mixed with the arm thrust created even more damage. The Krokorok shook as he stood up.

"Flamethrower" I called and Talace blasted the Pokémon back into the wall, to be quickly knocked out.

I sighed in relief. One down two to go.

"Return" Clay said with a shocked expression on his face.

"Palpitoad" he called and a blue frog-like Pokémon appeared.

I widened my eyes; Talace had a double disadvantage with a ground and a water type.

"Muddy water" Clay called. The Palpitoad screeched and a large wave of brown murky water arose to come hurtling towards Talace.

"Arm thrust on the ground and then Head Smash" I called. Talace slammed his fist on the ground to propel himself into the air just far enough to be above the enormous wave. He turned on a dime and went hurdling head first to make a perfect hit on the Palpitoad, smashing in straight into the ground since Talace had come from above. The Palpitoad acted as a cushion and the recoil was almost zip for Talace. He landed on his feet and we waited for the dust to clear before we saw Palpitoad, knocked out, a huge dent now in the floor.

"Yes" I quietly said under my breath.

"Wow, return" Clay called.

"Alright then Excadrill, here we go"

Out came a large mole like creature, with metal claws. My eyes widened, it was a very intimidating looking Pokémon.

'Alright' I thought, 'here we go'.

"Arm thrust" I called and Talace began to run towards the creature.

"Rock slide" Clay called. The Excadrill scraped its steel claws on the ground, sending an army of chunks of rock hurdling towards Talace as he ran.

"Try and dodge them" I said with concern.

Talace for a few seconds successfully avoided the rocks, but was struck with one, slowing him down till he couldn't dodge any of them.

Talace dropped to his knees, but looked up, a fiery determination in his eyes.

"Flamethrower" I called.

The flames blasted out and hurtled to hit the Excadrill knocking it backwards, but it stayed standing.

"Arm thrust again Talace" I called and my Emboar shot off like a runner towards the mole Pokémon.

"Bulldoze Excadrill" Clay called.

The Excadrill curled itself into a tight ball and rolled just like the Krokorok did. Talace's fist and the Excadrill collided and sent them both flying backwards.

"Try and land on your feet" I called out to Talace, but he wasn't able to turn enough and landed flat on his stomach with a loud crash.

He shook as he stood up and for the first time since battling Lenora, I was afraid Talace was going to faint.

Suddenly he let out a deafening roar and was engulfed in flames. My eyes widened, 'what was happening?'

Clay looked just as confused and finally I realized it was Talace's ability: Blaze. 'That means his fire attacks are extremely powerful now' I thought to myself a smile spreading across my face.

"Excadrill rock slide" Clay called, and the mole dragged its claws once again to send a storm of rocks towards Talace.

"Heat crash" I called. Talace roared and a large flaming ball came down, so hot, it disintegrated the rocks mid-air.

"Great, now flamethrower" I called. The flames were so fast Clay didn't have time to call out a move and the fire struck the Excadrill head on, easily knocking it out.

I smiled and Clay's eyes widened as he called back his Pokémon.

"Great job Talace, I will get you to a Pokémon center as soon as possible" I said. He snorted in agreement and I returned him.

Clay causally walked over to me.

"So I see, I am pleased" he said with a smile. I gave him a confused look, 'why was he happy he lost?'

"After all my years of battlin I figured there had ta be someone with a talent like yours" he said reaching into his pocket.

"Here is the Quake badge, proof of your win here at the Driftveil gym" I took it gingerly and smiled.

"Thanks Clay"

He nodded.

"I would be givin you a gift, if I didn't have somthin to attend ta. Hey listen, meet me at the entrance to the cave at the end of route 6 tomorra mornin, I'll be there and I'll give ya something." He smiled.

I grinned, "Okay"

He motioned to the elevator and it brought me straight up to the entrance to the gym. I walked out into the bright light and blinked a few times before I saw N standing a few feet away, looking elated.

"So, how did it go?" he asked.

I held up my badge.

"That's wonderful!" he said, giving me a hug.

"Thanks N" I said, hugging him back.

"Where would you like to go to celebrate?" he questioned.

I put my badge in its holder and shrugged, "I don't know, do you have any suggestions?" I questioned, smiling at him.

"I think I know where to go" he said grinning and took my hand. We walked for a few minutes, and soon I saw a gigantic tent in front of us.

"What's that?" I questioned.

"It is the Driftveil City market" N answered with a smile.

We walked inside the tent and my eyes widened. There were tons of venders and people bustling around buying food and things for Pokémon.

"Ooh" I said, picking up a shiny pokeball.

"You can find almost anything in this market" N said smiling.

"Ooh" I again said, putting down the pokeball and running a few feet over to pick up a delicious looking apple.

N walked over beside me and picked up one also.

We walked all around the market. I probably looked like a kid in a candy store with all the things for healing Pokémon I could look at. N just chuckled and followed me wherever I went. There had to be hundreds of people in there, and every few seconds you would bump into someone, and every time N would look irritated at the person and ask if I was okay. I would give him a confused look and tell him I was fine, just to be distracted by something shiny and run over to another vendor.

By the end of our little shopping trip I had bought a bucket load of pokeballs, remedies, and some herbs that were supposed to work well for healing Pokémon.

We walked back to my Pokémon center room and I laid everything out so I could organize it. N sat on the couch opposite of mine.

"So where do you want to go for dinner?" he asked, watching me happily put away my things.

"Um, I don't know, probably just the café here I guess" I said motioning around myself.

N frowned.

"What's wrong" I asked.

"I kind of wanted to take you out to eat" he said, peeking up at me, fearing rejection.

"Okay, that sounds fun" I said with a smile, closing my bag, "Where did you have in mind?"

He thought for a moment, "We could eat at my home" he said awkwardly, "the chefs make some good food." He said smiling.

I widened my eyes, "I don't know if that is such a good idea" I said, trailing off. I knew N still wouldn't let me see where his home was, and would have a car with pitch black windows, but I was more afraid of what was inside the building. I brought myself back to the odd conversation I had had with Ghetsis yesterday, and shuddered at the thought of meeting him again.

N sensed it had something to do with Ghetsis, "If you are worried about father, he isn't going to be home tonight"

I looked up at him questioningly.

"The Sages are all having a meeting this evening" he explained.

He looked at me hopefully and I could tell he really wanted me to visit where he lived again. I smiled.

"Okay then"

He grinned, "Good".

He walked into the other room and I could hear him talking to someone. He reappeared quickly and escorted me out the door. I dropped off Talace at the front desk of the Pokémon center and we were soon on our way, in the same car I had been in to go to my party.

He wrapped his arm around me in the backseat and smiled; obviously happy I was coming with him. Soon the car pulled to a stop and N pushed open the door before the man outside could open it for him. N motioned for me to get out and I did.

"Lord N," the man said bowing down. N nodded and the man straightened back up. "Where do you wish to go?" the man's eyes flicked over to me and then back to N.

"I believe we are having dinner in the dining room" N said, referring to both him and I, and the man nodded, starting to walk down the same hallway I had a few nights ago with Bianca.

We turned after a while to the left and again a large set of doors were in front of me. The man opened them up and nodded for us to go through. N put his hand on my lower back and escorted me in. I looked around the room. It was definitely smaller than the room my party was in, but it still wasn't exactly tiny. It was perfectly square with dark walls and dark carpets, and intricate chandeliers hanging from the ceiling; but there still weren't any windows.

N walked us over to a small table and pulled out the chair for me. I sat down and thanked him. I was uncomfortable; I wasn't exactly the classiest person in the world, and N on the other hand could probably take the title. Soon a waiter came over and stopped in front of us.

"What would you like to eat sire?"

My eyes widened, 'sire' that sounded regal.

N turned to me, "What would you like White?"

"Uh, what do they have?" I questioned, realizing we hadn't gotten a menu.

"Anything" N answered.

I thought for a second or two and then picked something that actually sounded really good at the moment.

"Spaghetti" I answered. I knew it wasn't the most elegant meal in the world but it sounded good.

"Spaghetti it is" N said with a smile, looking up at the waiter.

"Yes, my lord, it will be right out" I watched as the man slowly glided away.

I looked all around the room, still trying to drink in all the details. I was brought out of my thoughts by a thump. N had picked up his chair and was waddling over closer to me still holding it. He plopped it down with a thunk and smiled. I gave him a confused look.

"They put us a mile away" he said looking amused.

The table was actually quite small, and knew N was just making an excuse. I chuckled and put my head on his shoulder.

"So do you like it?" he questioned.

"Like what?" I asked.

He motioned around us.

"Yeah, it's beautiful" I said looking up at one of the intricate chandeliers.

"Good" N said, kissing my forehead.

I then saw something out of the corner of my eye and realized the waiter was back with two platefuls of spaghetti.

"Wow that was fast" I mumbled. N smiled and the waiter looked a little confused as to why N was sitting on my side of the table.

"U-uh, your dinner, Lord N" the waiter said putting a steamy plate of pasta in front of N.

'I don't think I will ever get used to the whole 'Lord N' bit' I thought to myself.

"And for you Ms. White" the waiter said putting an identical plate in front of me.

My eyes widened and my eyebrows shot up. 'Ms. White?'.

The waiter smiled. "Enjoy your meal"

He slowly walked away and I turned to N, who had a wide smile on his face.

"Ms. White" N said under his breath, "I like that"

I rolled my eyes and lightly elbowed him. He chuckled.

I took a bite of the spaghetti which had to be the best I had ever eaten, it could really give Brock's a run for its money. I swallowed and looked around the room, just to once again make sure Ghetsis wasn't here.

"So what are the Sages meeting about?" I asked.

"Me, and the legendary black and white dragons" he said casually. My eyes widened.

"If they are talking about you, shouldn't you like, be there?" I asked.

N smiled, "No, it is about nothing I don't already know" he said. I took another bite.

"So do you all have any leads on who the other hero is?" I questioned.

N paused and blinked a few times then looked sad, "No, not yet"

I knew N wouldn't be satisfied until he had proven that what he believed in was true by batting the other hero. It made me a little more at ease though, knowing nothing drastic in the taking Pokémon front would be happening until after the deciding battle.

We finished eating within a half an hour and N escorted me back to the car. I climbed in followed by N, and the car sped off. He wrapped his arm around me.

"So was that a good dinner?" he asked, as the car hit a bump sending us both a few inches in the air.

"Yeah" I said nodding, "It was amazing"

He looked pleased and smiled to himself.

We arrived back at the Pokémon center a while later. Nurse Joy said Talace was just fine and gave me back his pokeball. The instant we got inside the room I called him out.

"Talace, let's go" I said. He was out in seconds and looked around, happy to be back to a place we both called our home away from home.

He shot a glare at N and N frowned. I was still sad that Talace and N didn't get along, and recently I realized it bothered N too.

Talace grunted to me.

"She was out having dinner with me" N said, answering Talace's question to me.

Talace roared, obviously not pleased N had answered his question.

"Sorry, I'm just trying to help" N said.

Talace snorted.

"I'm sure that's true but my answer still doesn't change" N said with his voice a little raised.

Talace crossed his arms and grunted.

N looked angry now, "You know that's not true"

Talace growled and leaned closer to N.

"Why won't you believe me?" N asked, looking angrier.

Talace roared.

"We both want the same things" N yelled.

I watched as their conversation went back and forth, and back and forth, constantly getting louder. I sighed, 'why couldn't they just get along'.

I was snapped out of my thoughts by Talace stomping the floor making it rumble and I had a hard time staying standing, though N didn't seem to have any trouble. They were both inches from each other's face and I could tell Talace was getting ready for a flamethrower.

"Hey" I said, quickly running over to stand in between them, a hand on each of their chests. Talace's glowing nose, indicator of a fire attack, dimmed and he looked sad as he grunted to me.

"He says he is just trying to protect you" N said with a sigh.

Talace roared.

"Hey, I am _just_ trying to help" N yelled back. They again started fighting, looking around my head while doing so. It was like keeping two toddlers apart. They were obviously having a fight on N's translations, and I was finally fed up with it.

"That's enough!" I yelled. They both quickly quieted.

"You" I said turning to N, "It obviously bothers him when you translate because he would like me to figure it out first, and I have been trying to more lately. So don't translate right away, and see if I can get it on my own first." N looked shocked and a little hurt. I didn't want to yell at him, but I knew it had to be done.

I turned to Talace who was now looking quite smug.

"And you!" I said. Talace's eyes widened waiting to see why I was upset with him. "N _is_ helping whether you think he is or not. He has been saving me a lot of frustration with telling me what you are saying, so give the guy a break." I yelled. Talace's face reflected N's with shock and hurt.

I took my hands off of their chests and stepped back.

"I just want you two to get along" I said in a sad voice.

N and Talace looked at each other, and then back to me. Talace huffed a few times and I could tell he wasn't going to forgive N, and wasn't really going to change how he felt towards him, but he would ease up a bit to honor my wishes.

N opened his mouth to translate and I shot him a look. He closed his mouth again.

"Thank you Talace" I said. Talace gave N a look that said 'See, she can do it' and then walked into the other bedroom.

N smiled, now looking happy that I could in fact understand Talace to a point. I yawned and walked into the bedroom and he followed me, letting Zorua out in the main room before he shut the door. I sat down and brushed my hair again, I looked up to see him looking sad again in the mirror.

"Listen, I'm sorry White" he said, hanging his head and walking over to sit on the bed. My eyes widened, I guess I _had_ been too harsh after all. I stood up and walked over to him, cradling his face in my hands.

"No, you don't need to be sorry" I said smiling, sitting down in his lap.

N shook his head, "I don't act anything like that around any other Pokémon, it's just…. he doesn't want me to be with you, and that gets under my skin" he said, looking into my eyes.

"And he keeps brining up how I hurt you when I told you those things on the Ferris wheel." He looked down again, "I don't ever want to think about that because when I do I feel guilty, but he keeps talking about it, making me feel even worse" N said, sounding like he was going to cry. I could tell it killed him that he had made me unhappy that day, and with Talace rubbing it in every time they talked it didn't help.

"And-" he started, but I cut him off with a kiss. I kissed him with all the passion I had and he did the same. After a while I pulled back.

"That is in the past, it shouldn't matter anymore" I said, smiling.

N looked a little happier, and nodded.

"Listen, Talace will never let go of that just because of how protective he is of me, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't. I have completely forgiven you." I said, lightly brushing my fingertips on his cheek, "Forgive and forget" I said.

Apparently those were the perfect words because he smiled again, looking happier than ever.

"Thank you White" he said, grinning.

I nodded.

"He will probably still get under my skin with it though" N said frowning again.

I chuckled, "I know. You two just need to keep the volume down, that's all."

He laughed too.

"Come on" I said tugging at the covers he was sitting on, "let's go to bed."

He nodded and walked around to the other side of the bed and crawled in next to me. I snuggled down under the sheets and he pulled me in close. I rested my head on his chest.

I looked up at him and pulled myself up to give him a peck on the lips. He sighed in contentment and I settled back down on his chest.

"Goodnight love" he said, stroking my hair lovingly.

"Goodnight N" I said, nuzzling into his chest.


	29. Chargestone Cave

**Chapter 29, Holy mother of pearl, it is long again. I promise the next one is much much much shorter.**

**Odd chapter, a lot happens though.**

**I hope everyone had a great Halloween! And today is actually my birthday so that is why this chapter is so late. That's right, party time, lol.**

**Anywho, y'alls have a great day and enjoy! :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 29: Chargestone Cave**_

I woke up the next morning to realize N wasn't there. I looked over to the door and didn't hear a sound. I sighed, wondering where he was when something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. I rolled over and picked up a piece of paper that was folded like a tent so it would stand up. It had my name on the front and I opened it.

_Dear White,_

_I apologize for leaving without any notice, but I didn't want to wake you up. I have some business to take care of today. I will call you this evening to see where you are so I can catch up with you. Feel free to go on ahead as I knew you wanted to get going as soon as possible. I can't wait to see you._

_I love you sweetheart._

_~N_

I smiled at his sweet words and neat scrawling handwriting. I stretched and put the paper back on the nightstand. I was supposed to meet Clay this morning, but looking at the time, figured I had about an hour to kill. Just then I heard a ringing and realized it was my X-transceiver. I leaned over to get it, trying not to get out of bed. Finally I grabbed it and pushed myself back upright, successfully still in bed throughout the struggle to reach it. I didn't recognize the number and shrugged.

"Hello" I answered. Soon an image was on the small screen and I saw Brock's face. I smiled.

"Hi White" he said happily.

"Hey Brock, I wondered when you would reach a phone" I said chuckling.

"Yes, it has taken _forever_ to find one" he said sounding exasperated. Misty walked behind Brock and peeked at the screen.

"Oh hey White" she said smiling. I heard a voice in the background and then soon saw Ash's face a few inches away from the screen.

"Hey White, look, I got my second badge!" he exclaimed, holding a small badge up to the camera.

My eyes widened, "I thought you said it would take a few weeks to get to the _first_ gym" I said. Brock had told us that right after we made it to Johto, I had stayed there for a week, and then had been in Unova for a few days, but it still hadn't been anywhere near enough time, let alone for two gyms.

"Brock waaaaaay overestimated the time for walking" Ash said with a grin, "Plus we took a bus half way to the second gym" he said, starting to laugh with the amount of excitement and energy he had.

"Move" Brock growled and shoved Ash out of the picture. He smiled at me, looking embarrassed.

"Yeah, I didn't quite read the map right, and the first gym didn't have a phone" he said, looking tired.

"That's okay" I said smiling, "Are you all having fun?" I questioned.

"Yes!" I heard Ash's ecstatic voice yell. Brock chuckled and nodded.

"Yeah, Johto is a great region, you should visit sometime" Brock said jokingly.

I stuck my tongue out at him.

"But seriously, when are you coming back White?" Brock asked, his face turning serious.

"Well it's only been about five days since I left Johto, so not for a little while anyway. I got my fifth badge, but I think I will go for my sixth before I leave Unova, and with the training and traveling, I don't really know when that will be" I said with an apologetic smile.

Brock looked sad but nodded, understanding.

"Well, listen I have to go, I am supposed to meet someone in a little bit and I am still in my pajamas" I said with a smile.

Brock looked unhappy, "Are you meeting N?" he questioned.

"No, he is taking care of some business today" I said quoting the note N had left. I wondered if Brock knew how close N and I were, since he asked if I was simply meeting N, and we had slept in the same bed last night. I was pulled out of my thoughts as Ash's face once again filled up the screen.

"I'm already traveling for my third badge, you need to hurry up White" he said teasingly.

I laughed and made a silly face at him. Brock once again shoved him off the screen and I heard a thump and Ash's loud 'Ow, what was that for?'

Both Brock and I laughed.

"Well you have fun" Brock said with a smile.

"I will, you too" I said grinning back.

"I'll call the next phone I see" he said.

"It's a deal" I replied.

"Goodbye White" Brock said, looking lovingly at me.

"Bye Brock" I said smiling back.

The screen clicked black and I sighed, putting my X-transceiver in my bag, along with N's note, which for some reason I wanted to hang onto.

'Okay then' I thought to myself, 'now to meet up with Clay'.

* * *

It took me about two hours to find and pass through route 6, it was definitely the longest route yet, but I caught a Karrablast, a Deerling, and a Foongus, so I was happy.

I trudged out of the tall grass to see Clay in the distance, walking up some stone stairs towards Chargestone Cave.

'Good' I thought to myself, 'I'm just as late as he is'. He turned around once he reached the top and soon saw me. He smiled and motioned me over. I ran up the steps and stood a few feet away from him smiling.

"Well ya didn't keep me waitin long" he said, chuckling. He turned to look at the mouth of the cave which had a sticky yellow substance covering it that looked almost like a web.

"That there is a nest for a Pokémon called Galvantula" he said shaking his head. "Why they are making nests round these parts I haven't a clue, but people are startin to get worried, so as a gym leader it's ma job to take care of it" he said adjusting his hat.

"Go Krokorok" he called and his large Pokémon easily tore through the web; it looked like Krokorok was getting shocked with electricity, but being a ground type, wasn't fazed. Soon the web was completely gone and the cave entrance was clear.

"Thanks Krokorok" Clay said with a smile, returning his Pokémon.

"Alrighty then now that that's done, take this HM as a gift for that wonderful battle yesterday" he said handing me a disk. I looked closely at it.

"That's surf, you can use it to get across any body of water" he said with a smile.

"Thanks" I said, putting it in my case.

"Listen" he said putting his hand on my shoulder. I looked up at him, "You are one talented youngin, I haven't seen the likes of you before, and so I wish you luck" he said, grinning. I smiled back, and he took his hand off my shoulder to start walking away, but turned back. "The only limit you have is yerself".

He tipped his hat and walked away, leaving me to mull over his words. I smiled. Hopefully I _do_ have something special.

I sighed and looked around. 'I guess I should be heading into Chargestone Cave now if I planned on getting to the next town anytime soon' I thought to myself. Right before I headed in something caught my eye. I looked to my right and across a river I saw another cave, with a very small opening. I walked over to the edge of the river, squinting to get a better look at it. Curiosity getting the best of me, I decided to use the handy HM I had just received to get across. I knew I would be in a cave anyway today, so I had transferred back Audino and returned Zebstrika to Professor Oak; the reason being, that I had taught the pink Pokémon Flash so I would be able to see. To my surprise, and luck, Audino could also learn surf. After a while of teaching the Pokémon how to swim I got on her back and we started off. I ran into a plethora of water Pokémon, and after only crossing an extremely small river had caught two Basculin, both with different coloring, and two Frillish, both also having different coloring. I reached the other side and walked into the small cave, Audino in tow.

"Alright Audino, flash" I said, smiling.

She let out a high pitched sound and was engulfed in a bright light, enabling me to see clearly. I looked around; it was a rather flat cave, only having a few bumps here and there, with a very tall celling. I walked all around the cave for a while, being careful not to slip as the floor was surprisingly wet. I caught an Axew, which I didn't know lived in these parts, but apparently did. After a while I saw a large staircase looking structure. Audino and I managed to climb it and were let out onto a level which had its own lighting, though I didn't see any opening for the sun.

"Great job Audino" I said and returned her. I peeked around; the upper level was much bumpier, with walls of jagged rock all around. I walked around; exploring, just as other travelers apparently had since I found many items just lying around.

Suddenly I heard a deafening low pitched roar. I jumped, and quickly became scared, so I called out Talace. My Emboar made me feel a lot better and we continued on in the cave. As the roar got louder, Talace started walking behind me, looking almost like a body guard, making sure no one snuck up behind us. I finally reached a point that was almost completely blocked by a gigantic rock, and knew the creature that was making that sound was behind it.

"Do you think you could push it?" I questioned. Talace nodded and used some major muscle to move the rock a few feet to the side so we could pass through. I peeked around the rock. My eyes widened and my mouth dropped open at the sight.

A large blue and grey Pokémon was walking around; looking like he was making sure no one else was in this part of the cave. I knew the instant I saw him he was special. I racked my brain and finally remembered his name: Cobalion. 'He is a legendary' I thought, 'what is he doing around here?'

I shook my head to clear it, and realized this was the chance of a lifetime to be close enough to catch a Cobalion.

"Alright Talace" I whispered and my Emboar nodded, obviously on the same page as I was. I stepped out from behind the rock and the large Cobalion jumped, and braced itself, looking scared.

"It's okay Cobalion" I cooed, slowly walking closer. The large Pokémon relaxed a bit at my calm voice but tensed up again once Talace walked out, sensing I was here for a battle.

"I would like to challenge you to a capture battle" I said in a confident voice. I wasn't sure why I was asking the Pokémon for a battle, maybe because he was a legendary, and seemed more human. The Cobalion paused, looking like he was thinking, and finally nodded, accepting my challenge.

"Okay Talace, it's up to you" I said and my large Pokémon stood in front of me, ready to go.

"Flamethrower" I called and Talace shot a large blast of flames out of his nose. The Cobalion blurred to miss the attack and charged towards my Emboar, his horns beginning to glow.

"That's Iron head" I warned and Talace caught on, grabbing the Cobalion's horns, stopping the attack abruptly. The legendary Pokémon looked surprised and struggled to get free.

"Flamethrower again" I called and Talace, still holding the Cobalion blasted it with a flamethrower. The large Pokémon stumbled backwards and looked frightened. The legendary Pokémon's eyes flicked to me, and I suddenly heard a voice.

_"__You are very strong indeed, but I don't believe this is the time for us to become partners" _

The Cobalion then quickly and skillfully scaled the nearly vertical wall, and disappeared. I was in shock, but finally realized Cobalion had in fact talked to me, using telepathy I guessed. Talace looked confused as to why I hadn't stopped him from escaping, but soon seemed to realize.

"Well then, I see you have met Cobalion" I heard a raggedy voice call from behind me. I turned around to see an old man walking towards me, smiling.

"Not many people see him, he must've trusted you" he said, stopping in front of me.

"Where did he go?" I asked, looking back to the spot near the ceiling where Cobalion had disappeared.

The old man shook his head, "I don't know, but I _do_ know he will be back," he smiled, "you should come back one day, and see if Cobalion is ready to battle you again" the old man said and then turned to slowly walk away.

I smiled to myself at the once in a lifetime moment I had had, and turned to Talace.

"You ready to go?" I asked.

Talace nodded and we walked back out to the mouth of the cave. To my surprise it was pouring down rain, and I could barely see across the small river. Talace stayed away from the opening, careful not to get wet. I sighed, "I guess we will be staying here for a while then" I said, turning to Talace. He nodded and we both sat down on the ground, looking out into the rain. I leaned against my giant Pokémon and he patted my shoulder.

* * *

Finally after about an hour and a half the rain slowed to a stop. Unova had bipolar weather, and often had patches of severe rain here and there, which would clear up after an hour or so, going away almost as quickly as it came. I returned Talace and once again used Audino to get across. Once I reached the other side I returned her also and stepped into Chargestone cave.

I stared in awe at the large cavern. It was very dark, but to my surprise I could still see, courtesy of the electrical currents coursing through the rocks. Whenever you would take a step, a blue shock of electricity would shoot across the floor, but I wouldn't feel a jolt or a shock, or anything. The walls were covered with blue crystals which seemed to be the culprits in producing the blue currents. I smiled and dragged my foot across the ground, creating an array of blue sparks that danced around, making the floor look like a canvas. I was brought out of my fun when I saw a blur out of the corner of my eye.

I jumped a mile when I saw a white haired man wearing all black standing next to me. I heard a whooshing sound and saw another on the other side of me. They seemed to have appeared out of thin air and I was speechless. They stayed quiet for a few moments, letting me gather my thoughts before the one on my right spoke up.

"Come" he said and the two started quickly walking forwards. I was fascinated by the men and hesitantly followed. We walked for a few minutes before they turned a sharp corner and stepped to the side. My eyes widened as I saw N about ten feet in front of me, brushing his fingers against the wall, his back facing me. One of the men cleared his throat and N turned around. His face looked very surprised at first too but then turned to a pleased expression. He nodded and the two men stepped back and again vanished into thin air. I frantically looked around, wondering where they had gone and heard N chuckle. I looked over and saw he was walking towards me.

"Those men were two of the Shadow Triad" he said answering my inevitable question. I gave him an asking glance.

"They're members of Team Plasma assembled by father" he explained. I nodded and quietly looked around, still admiring the cave.

"By the way it seems it was they who set up the Galvantula nest at the opening of this cave" N said, looking to his left. He turned back to me, "Chargestone Cave, this is a nice place" he said, seemingly waiting for my answer.

I nodded, wondering why N was here. He had said he had business to take care of, was it really in a cave?

"Electrical equations are put into action in this cave." he said, tapping his foot on the ground to create a wave of blue electricity streaks. "It has a connection to the Pokémon that live here" he said smiling. "Isn't it beautiful?"

I nodded again, brushing my foot on the floor, also creating streaks of electricity. N looked unhappy that I wasn't saying anything but continued.

"You seem to be special, White" he said in a loving but curious tone. He seemed to be less intimate now, like we didn't have a relationship; we were just acquaintances, or friends. He seemed to act this way when Team Plasma was around, and I figured having most of them _not_ know we had a relationship was a good idea. I looked around, sensing the two men that were apparently part of the Shadow Triad were still nearby, and figured that was why N was acting so formal.

N looked unhappy that I didn't react much to his statement.

"I have spoken of you to father" he said. My head whipped up.

"What?" I questioned. I knew N had talked to Ghetsis about me since Ghetsis had known N was in love with me, but I sensed this was about something else.

N smiled, finally getting me to talk, "And through the Shadow Triad we have watched you and your friends lately"

I made a face; that seemed really creepy.

N continued, "Cheren is seeking out an ideal he calls strength" he paused, "And Bianca believes in a truth, the truth that no one has the need for becoming stronger"

He walked a little closer to me, "And you have not decided on either. A neutral entity so to speak," he again paused and tilted his head to the side, "and that seems to be a positive quality"

I gave him a confused look, and heard another whooshing sound. I looked around waiting to see the Shadow Triad members but didn't. N then took several large strides and gave me a tight hug, his guard was apparently down now.

"W-what?" I questioned, wondering about a lot of things.

He pulled back and smiled. "Sorry the Triad was listening in, and I didn't really want to do any of this with them around" N motioned to me and them himself. This confirmed my theory that he didn't want to act the same around Team Plasma, even though they had attended my party, which really threw me off. I put it out of my mind and looked back up to him, still confused as to why he had told me those things.

"Everything I said was true wasn't it?" N said, smiling.

"I-I guess" I stammered.

"Was this the business you were taking care of today?" I asked, looking around the cave.

He nodded, "And I'm not quite through yet" he said with a frown. "Go ahead and make your way through the cave, you will meet many members of Team Plasma ahead, and through them father will measure how much of a Pokémon trainer you truly are"

I gave him a confused look but nodded, wondering why Ghetsis wanted to test me. He smiled and leaned down to give me peck on the lips. I smiled at that and he looked pleased.

"I will call you when I am done to see where you are" he said in his silky smooth voice. I nodded.

"Goodbye love" he said straightening up.

"Bye N" I said, and he slowly walked away.

I blinked a few times, trying to process what had just happened, I had some troubles though, and figured I should talk with him about it tonight. I sighed and turned to my right which would take me deeper into the cave.

I walked for a while. There were tons of Pokémon, and within the first five minutes I had caught a Ferroseed, a Joltik, and a Tynamo. After a few minutes I heard a low pitched sound, I looked around looking for the source but couldn't find it. The ground started to lightly shake and I braced myself. All of a sudden something came shooting out of the ground directly under me. I fell backwards and landed on my back. I quickly stood up and looked in front of me to see a tiny Pokémon, a Drilbur, who was snickering to himself. I gave him a stern look but after a moment or two started laughing too, it was simply contagious. He trilled, obviously happy I was laughing also. I walked closer to him and he let me pet him.

"Hi there Drilbur, you need to be careful where you dig" I said with a smile.

He smiled up at me, and I suddenly remembered I didn't have a Drilbur yet.

"How about we have a battle, and if I win you become my Pokémon" I said, raising one eyebrow. The small Pokémon eagerly agreed and within minutes I had myself a Drilbur. I liked the Pokémon's spirit and reminded myself to transfer it back.

"Whiiiiiiiite!" I heard someone yell from behind me. I whirled around to see an elated Bianca running towards me.

"I didn't know you would be here White!" she exclaimed giving me a hug.

"Yeah, I'm heading on over to the next town, why are you here?"

"Doing research" she said with a grin and stepped back from the hug.

"Research?" I questioned. Bianca wasn't exactly a researcher.

"Yup, and I am here with" she paused and leaned on a large blue rock. "Professor Juniper" she said looking smug. I heard a creaking sound and soon the rock she was leaning on gave out and she went tumbling onto the floor.

"I told you those rocks move" I heard an amused voice say. I looked over my shoulder to see Professor Juniper walking towards us. Bianca quickly got up and dusted herself off, looking utterly embarrassed.

"Hi White, how have you been?" Juniper asked, putting the clipboard she was holding under her arm.

"I'm doing great" I said, smiling.

"Now Bianca, remember I told you the rocks that glow blue are rocks that can easily be moved since they are simply levitating because of the electricity in the rocks propelling itself against the electricity in the cave floor" Juniper said, shaking her head.

"Yes, I remember" Bianca said looking even more embarrassed.

"So what are you guys doing here?" I asked.

"Well, I am doing research on a Pokémon that lives in this cave called Klink" Professor Juniper said, looking around.

I hadn't caught a Klink yet and was excited at the notion of a new Pokémon.

"Klink is quite an interesting and unique Pokémon, and I am doing research on when it originated in Unova. Exciting right?" she questioned looking giddy.

"Yeah sounds like a lot of fun" I said, smiling.

"And as for me, I am Professor Juniper's bodyguard" Bianca piped in. "Not that she needs one or anything, but you've got to protect what is important to you" she said with a wink.

I smiled and shook my head.

"Well we will let you go White" the Professor said, waving and heading in the other direction.

* * *

I walked for a while, experimenting with the blue floating rocks, and having a heyday pushing them around everywhere. Soon I heard a loud screeching sound and whipped around to see something that looked like floating gears a few feet away. I pointed my pokedex at it.

_"__Klink, the gear Pokémon. Interlocking two bodies and spinning around generates the energy they need to live."_

"Wow so that's a Klink" I said under my breath. Within seconds I had captured the mysterious Pokémon, it was a tough battler, but Talace being a fire type easily blew through it.

I heard a voice from across the cave and saw Professor Juniper again, looking closely at the wall. I walked over to her.

"What are you looking at?" I questioned.

"This cave has been here for a long long time; but I haven't found even a scrap of evidence suggesting Klink even existed prior to 100 years ago." She frowned and then snapped her fingers, looking much happier"

"Yes!" she exclaimed, "Klink abruptly originated 100 years ago, that _must_ be it!" she turned to me, "Pokémon, where did they come from, where are they headed, if we could know those things we would get along much better, at least that's what I believe" she said smiling at me.

Bianca walked up beside the Professor. "Pokémon are wonderful creatures aren't they White?"

I nodded feverishly. Pokémon _were_ amazing.

"But why these little guys would want to be with me…. I wonder" she said, looking down at a pokeball in her hand.

"I'm done with my research here Bianca if you are ready to go" the Professor said smiling.

"Yup I'm ready" Bianca said looking happy.

They both waved and headed back.

I sighed and turned around, I _had_ to be getting close to the end of the cave, I had been here for almost two hours now.

* * *

After yet another hour of walking I stopped and sat down, pulling out a bottle of water. 'Will this cave ever end?' I questioned to myself, taking a drink. I heard a whooshing sound and out of thin air appeared the same Shadow Triad men, except there were actually three of them this time. I cursed to myself, again startled.

"Why do you keep doing that?" I said standing up and putting a hand over my pounding heart.

They didn't speak but I swore I could see one of them smile.

"Down there" the one on the far right said pointing to a hole in the ground. "Team Plasma is waiting"

"Waiting for what?" I asked, but before I had even finished my question they had disappeared again.

"Jeez" I said, once again amazed, "they are like ninjas"

I walked over to the hole in the floor and realized it in fact was an almost vertical staircase. I remembered N had said Ghetsis was going to test me through the Team Plasma members and sighed, figuring this was what he was talking about.

I walked down and was let out on another level that looked exactly the same as the one I had been on, the difference being that this level was crawling with Plasma grunts. I sighed and walked forward. They turned. A few looked surprised, just like the ones in cold storage, and I realized they had been at my party, but most just smirked, waiting for their turn to battle me.

One red haired female grunt walked towards me, looking me up and down judgingly. I suddenly felt self-conscious and crossed my arms.

"So you are the one our king is so smitten with" she said in a derogatory tone.

My eyes widened, she had to have been at my party; that was the only way she would have known that… right?

"Uh, I guess" I answered, my statement sounding more like a question. She walked closer to me.

"I can't see why Lord N would choose _you_" she said, smirking.

I suddenly was offended.

"Well he did" I said stomping my foot on the ground, sounding like a child.

She scoffed, "There isn't anything special about you, and I will prove it" she said, taking out a pokeball.

"Alright then" I agreed and took out one of my own.

We battled and within less than a minute her team was obliterated. She looked shocked. She huffed and glared at me before she walked away. After that I challenged about twenty grunts to battles, and easily blew through them, without any of my Pokémon becoming even remotely worn out.

Finally I beat the last one and sighed in relief as I walked forwards.

"Well then" I heard a voice I would recognize anywhere say.

I turned the corner and saw N casually leaning against the wall.

"The world turns grey with the mingling of many thoughts, I can't allow that to happen" he said, sounding pained.

I tilted my head to the side, wondering where he was going with this.

"Pokémon should be separated from humans, clearly split, just as clear as black and white; and it is then that Pokémon can be perfect" he said with a smile.

My gut wrenched at the remembrance that N was still in fact the leader of the organization I despised; and his values, which I usually forgot about when I was with him, once again infuriated me.

"Yes, that is my dream, a dream I seek to make reality" he said, his eyes sparkling at the idea of Pokémon being free. He looked away, thinking, and then turned back to me.

"White, do you share my dream?" he asked, sounding like he was almost pleading. He had asked me this many times before, and each time he expected to get an answer that would never come.

"Never" I spat, still angry.

He frowned before his face looked almost as angry as mine.

"How can those who do not share my dream hope to understand me?" he said, his hands beginning to shake. N wasn't too passionate about much, but when it came to his values, he obsessed, and would do anything to make them reality.

He growled, "You…. have you no heart?"

I was shocked at the words N uttered and didn't answer for fear I would say something I would regret. N closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"The legendary Pokémon…. will it befriend me?" he now sounded almost sad, and I knew he had all of his hopes riding on one dormant Pokémon.

N looked back to me, "A world where Pokémon are tortured," he paused, looking devastated, "I can't ignore that"

With that he sighed and shrugged off of the wall to slowly walk away.

Tons of emotions were running through my body. Anger was still coursing inside of me. 'How can he still think that way?' I questioned, furious at the notion of a world without humans and Pokémon working together. I also felt sad, N had so much angst because of his beliefs, and I felt bad for him. But the emotion that seemed to be taking the front seat was sadness. N and my dreams and ideals would always differ, could we really get past that? I thought for a moment before I made a determined face.

'Yes we can' I thought to myself.

I continued walking, all the while thinking.

I couldn't deny that what N had said was pretty uncalled for, and I would make sure and give him a piece of my mind when I saw him tonight.

Soon I reached the end of the cave and sighed in relief. I stepped out into the light to see a bustling town, Mistralton City. The sky was becoming dark and I realized I really _had_ been in that cave forever. I made my way to the Pokémon center and once again rented a larger room. I let out my Pokémon and took a shower. I walked into the living room afterwards, drying my hair and jumped a mile when I saw the familiar green haired man sitting on the couch.

"N?" I questioned wondering how he got in. He turned around and smiled.

"Hi White" he sounded pleasant, like nothing had happened. I glared at him and he looked surprised.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

I raised my eyebrows, figuring he would at least have a guess. "So about in the cave today" I started, walking towards the couch across from his. I sat down and began brushing out my tangled wet hair.

"What about it?" he questioned, looking innocent.

"Everything you said….. and asking if I had a heart?" I said, raising my voice as the anger once again bubbled inside me.

"Oh" N said looking down, "Yeah, I'm sorry about that, I did go a little overboard"

My anger subsided at the apologetic look on his face and I condemned myself for being so weak.

"We do have different values though, and you already knew that" he said quietly.

"I know N" I sighed, "but it still makes me angry when we talk about it" I said yanking the brush through a knot.

He chuckled, "Yeah it does me too"

With that we had everything resolved. I was surprised it went so smoothly but N and I seemed to be good at smoothing over differences. We knew both of us were very passionate about what we were pursuing, and we tried to leave it at that, respecting the others' beliefs.

I smiled; glad our spat was over and set my brush down on the table. I looked up at N to see _he_, on the other hand, didn't look happy at all. His head was hanging down and a frown covered his face. I walked over and sat in his lap, straddling his legs, lifting up his face up to look at me.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I don't like it when you're mad at me" he said innocently, sounding like a child who just got scolded.

I gave him a sympathetic look, "No sweetie I wasn't mad at you" I said awkwardly. I didn't usually use pet names and so I wasn't used to it yet.

He looked at me intently.

"I was just….. frustrated with the situation" I said smiling.

A smile twitched onto his face also and he gently nodded.

I frowned, "When have I ever been mad at you?" I questioned as this was the closest N and I had ever had to a fight.

"On the Ferris wheel" he answered quietly.

'Oh yeah' I thought. I didn't realize exactly how much what I had said on that ride had bothered N, but was slowly beginning to notice.

"I thought we were past that" I said softly.

He nodded, "We are, it's just that the memory sometimes comes back…. like just now when you were m-" he stopped, not wanting to say mad, "frustrated"

I laughed and he smiled. I leaned closer to him and gently placed a small kiss on his lips.

I pulled back and looked to my right and then back to N, trying to change the topic of conversation.

"So" I started, "Those Shadow Triad guys are creepy"

N let out a loud laugh, "Yes, having them sneak up on you gets a little old after a while"

I chuckled, glad that N seemed to be happy again, "So they were the reason you were acting so… formal today?" I asked.

"Well yes, and because I think it would be best to keep my duty as leader and our relationship separate" he said awkwardly. I understood though.

I nodded, "Yes, I agree with you N, and I will act as the girl who is trying to overthrow your organization not your girlfriend when I'm around Team Plasma" I said jokingly, but he could tell I was in fact telling the truth. We would act differently around one another than we would around Team Plasma.

"But why if you wanted to keep everything separate, were there grunts at my party?" I asked smoothing out a wrinkle in his shirt.

N shrugged, "It was a lapse in judgment I guess, but I still don't regret it." He paused, "But having them around us probably won't be happening again" he said with a smile.

I nodded, oddly relieved.

"So did I pass Ghetsis' magical test?" I asked.

N chuckled, "With flying colors"

I smiled to myself and got out of N's lap.

"C'mon we should probably be getting some sleep"

He nodded, and we both walked into the bedroom and crawled in, quickly drifting off to sleep.

The conversation N and I had had was an odd one, but it resolved some things. N and I would still act the same towards each other, but would act as Pokémon trainers with a goal in mind when around Team Plasma. I smiled to myself; that was what I had wanted all along, it wouldn't be fair for us to go easy on each other. But I did wonder why Ghetsis was testing me.

I soon put everything out of my mind and breathed in; being pulled back into the small romantic bubble I had with N, outside of the real world, just us two.


	30. Playing Around

**Okay, Chapter 30, wow I can't believe I am already to chapter thirty, whew. Okay a couple of things before we begin.**

**This chapter is just a bit of pointless fluff, and nonsense, except for the first part that is... which is kind of like a preface... or something like that; AND, this chapter is shorter like I promised, if you rule out this incredibly long author's note.**

**The other thing... I got White 2 yesterday.. so... that means this week is.. Poke-lover88 plays pokemon until her brain is fried week. And why I am telling you this is because I will probably slow down on writing this story while I am obsessed with that game. So probably only two chapters next week, I will try and discipline myself to write, but no promises.**

**True story.**

**Anywho, enough of my ramblings, and enjoy! :)**

* * *

"Garbage" Ghetsis yelled, "Completely and utterly useless" he spat slamming the piece of paper and his fist down on the large mahogany desk in front of him. A grunt had once again come up with some idea for taking Pokémon, and the ideas just seemed to be getting more and more unreasonable.

"Out!" he yelled and the frightened grunt briskly walked out, but not before bowing to the large green haired man.

Ghetsis turned to the guards on either side of him, "You too, I want to be alone"

"But sire" the guards protested, knowing it wasn't normal for Ghetsis to want to be in solitude.

"Now" Ghetsis growled and the guards hesitantly walked out, closing the door behind them.

Ghetsis took a deep breath, massaging his temples from the pounding headache that had been paining him since the day before. But it wasn't because of the headache that he wanted it to be quiet, he simply wanted to be alone with his thoughts, his thoughts that hadn't slowed down since the evening before.

'How could she so easily blow through that many of my men' he thought to himself, conjuring the image of the utter obliteration of his team by a small brunette, who seemed to have everyone wrapped around her finger, including his son.

Ghetsis sighed, closing his eyes.

'N had said she was special' he thought, 'but I never considered it to be to that extent'

His fingers curled into a fist and anger once again rose up inside him. She had rejected his offer of joining him and Team Plasma, and that still infuriated him to no end.

'She couldn't be the one, the other hero, she just couldn't be' he again sighed, trying to calm himself.

N had suggested to him a few days ago that he might have found out who was the hero that was to oppose him. Ghetsis' eyes had widened at the opportunity to see what they were up against, and when N said the young girl named White, who was much more than a rival to N, Ghetsis had scoffed. N had said to let her prove herself, and she indeed had.

'I have to admit I haven't seen anyone so determined to prove what they believe in before' Ghetsis thought, leaning back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling. 'Other than N that is' he added.

He sighed in defeat. The reason for his headache was the notion that she was the other hero, but what really made it hurt, was that he knew it was true, she _was_ the other one, whether he liked it or not; and he had secretly known that for longer than anyone, but hadn't let it come to the surface, where his thoughts would eat away at it until he gave into the truth.

Ghetsis sighed and pulled out an X-transceiver.

'I guess I should tell N he was right' Ghetsis thought in his head, almost throwing up at the notion of him being proven wrong…. or right, if he ever admitted to himself he had known she was the one before.

* * *

_**Chapter 30: Playing Around**_

I woke up the next morning to a sound coming from the main room. I sat up and rubbed my eyes as I identified the sound to be music.

'What on Earth' I thought to myself as I crawled out of bed and walked over to the door that was open just a crack. I pushed it open further and my eyes widened at the sight. N was the one playing music, and he was happily in the kitchen, struggling to get the cork out of a bottle.

"What are you doing?" I asked before I jumped as the cork when whizzing by, making a loud pop.

"Celebrating" N said with a smile as he poured what looked to be Champagne into a small glass.

"Here" he said shoving the glass into my hand and poured one of his own.

"N, I'm not old enough to drink" I said in a monotone voice, not amused with his shenanigans this early in the morning.

"Oh" N said, frowning and took my glass back. He took a drink of the liquid and my eyes widened.

"And neither are you" I said, taking both glasses out of his hands.

"I'm not?" he said sounding confused.

"You're eighteen right?" I asked.

He nodded.

"You have to be twenty-one" I sighed, walking over and grabbing the cork that was on the floor.

"Father said it was eighteen" N said with a shocked expression on his face.

"Nope twenty-one" I again repeated, shoving the cork back into the bottle, "Unless you want to go find some beer, that's legal at eighteen" I said, still a bit unamused, but found myself smiling.

"Oh" N said still looking shocked.

"Why are you celebrating anyway?" I asked, pouring out the glasses.

"I got some good news this morning" he said sounding like he could explode with excitement.

"What about?" I asked, turning around to face him.

He paused, "I can't tell you yet" he said, frowning.

I gave him a look, "Okay suit yourself" I said, chuckling at N's odd mood this morning.

N's smile returned and he turned up the music.

"Dance with me White" he said, grabbing onto my hand.

"Oh ho ho, no you don't" I said spinning to sit on the couch.

He looked confused.

"You got me to dance at my party, and that was a miracle in and of itself, so two times in one week, not gonna happen" I said grinning.

"Fine then, I'll dance by myself" N said defiantly. I scrunched my eyebrows together.

N smirked and began waltzing around the room, arms up as if he had a partner. I facepalmed.

"N why are you acting so weird today?" I asked.

"I got good news, I already told you that" he said, continuing to dance.

"It must've been _really_ good" I said, watching as he pretended to dip his partner.

"It was" he said and winked at me.

I saw Talace poke his head out of the other room and his eyes widened. He watched N for a minute, looking at him like he was absolutely insane before he shook his head and disappeared back into the room.

I burst out laughing and N looked confused, but in the mood he was in today, my odd fits of laughter didn't shake his happiness.

"Oh what the hell" I whispered to myself and got off of the couch.

N and I danced around the room for a good half hour, looking like complete idiots, and by the end I was extremely happy, and extremely worn out. We both collapsed onto the couch.

"You do know I just celebrated some good news that I don't even know what it is right?" I asked, looking over at N.

"Yup" N said, looking pleased.

"Why on Earth did I do that?" I questioned to myself.

"Because you love me" N said in a goofy voice before he leaned over and kissed my cheek. I smiled.

"Hey," N said, turning to me, "Since yesterday was a bit bumpy, how about we make up for it by having a fun day today?" he asked, his grey green eyes lighting up with excitement.

"By doing what?" I asked.

"Let's train today, and stay inside, and watch a movie" he kept listing things to do but I tuned out, smiling at how happy he looked.

"And we can go get ice cream, and-" I cut his list off with a kiss, he was surprised at first but soon gave in and wrapped his hand around my face. I pulled back after a moment.

"Yeah, and all that stuff" he said, greedily pulling me back to his lips.

After a few minutes of N's affection I stood up and brushed myself off, realizing I was still in my pajamas.

"So training you say?" I asked. He smiled and nodded.

I got changed and soon found myself out behind the Pokémon center with all of my Pokémon and N in tow.

"So how should we start?" I asked.

"Just do what you normally do, and I'll help in whatever ways I can" he said with a smile.

"Alrighty then" I said, calling out my Pokémon. N let out Zorua too, but told the dark fox it was just to observe. However my Vanillite seemed to take a liking to Zorua and they soon began playing together. I shook my head as I looked over at Talace, Darmanitan, and Sigilyph. I pulled out the other two pokeballs but addressed my Pokémon that were out already.

"So these are some new friends, everyone be nice"

My Pokémon nodded.

"Come on out" I called and my small Drilbur and Klink soon appeared.

"Oh you have a Klink" N said sounding happy.

"Yup" I smiled, still watching my Pokémon, who were now beginning to get acquainted.

After a while of training each Pokémon individually I decided to have some scrimmages.

Klink and Vanillite went up against each other, and to my surprise they were evenly matched, and neither one won.

Darmanitan and Drilbur were next; Darmanitan had the disadvantage with type, but advantage with experience. After a long battle my tiny Drilbur managed to squeak out a victory and the small thing danced around proud of its accomplishment.

"Alright, Talace and Sigilyph, you guys are up next" I said.

Talace snorted and Sigilyph chirped to me, letting me know he was excited. The two of them had formed some sort of rivalry mixed with a mutual respect for one another; it was just an odd relationship.

"Alright, Talace flamethrower, and Sigilyph shadow ball" I called. The attacks flew back and forth. The great thing about having scrimmages like this, was that the Pokémon practiced their attacks, while having to dodge at the same time.

Soon the attacks collided and an explosion was the result. Neither Pokémon was fazed and I smiled.

"Sigilyph, if you moved forward a bit when you send off your shadow ball it would be a lot more powerful" N chimed in with his critiques. "And Talace, if you-"

He was cut off by a large ball of smoke hitting him in the face. I laughed and Talace snorted at his work. N sighed and wiped the soot off of his eyes.

"I don't think he wants your input" I said smiling.

"I guess not" N said smiling at my amusement.

"Alright everyone, it's getting late" to my surprise the day was almost over already, and it felt like it had just started, I guess time flies when you are having fun.

We all trudged back up to the room and got dinner ready. N took a shower and looked good as new, no ash anywhere when he returned.

"You wanna watch a movie?" he asked, sitting down on the couch and picking up his sandwich.

"Sure" I said.

For the next two hours N and I and our Pokémon watched the movie, even Talace, much to my surprise creeped out of the bedroom to watch from a distance.

After it ended I leaned back patting my happy stomach.

"That was good" I replied.

"Sure was" N said, still having the hint of excitement in his voice.

I soon felt a breeze and something tugged at my head. I quickly looked over at N and realized he had taken off my hat. He turned to me and pulled his legs in to sit criss cross. He had his hat off and had put mine on. I giggled and he smiled at the sound of my laugh.

I patted the top of my head, "It feels weird not having a hat on" I said absentmindedly. N frowned and then grinned, grabbing his hat off of the table and putting it on my head.

He beamed, obviously happy with the new arrangement. I pushed his hat down so it was all the way on and smiled too.

"C'mon you weirdo" I said pulling him off of the couch.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"We are going to bed" I said pointing at the clock that said almost one in the morning now.

"Oh" he replied and followed me into the bedroom. I changed in the bathroom into my pajamas, and when I came out N was still happily wearing my hat.

I put his on the dresser and crawled into bed. N was sitting on the end of the bed and turned to me, straightening his new cap.

"I think I look good in this" he said with a smile.

I giggled, "Yes you do N"

He chuckled and took off the hat, tossing it over next to his; he kicked off his shoes and crawled in beside me.

I rolled over and put my head on his chest.

"I had a great time today" N said with a smile in his voice.

"I did too" I replied, also smiling.

"I wish every day could be like today" he said.

"Well, maybe for the next week or so we can make it that way" I said, admittedly wanting to do the same things as I did today every day also.

"Good" N said.

"You know I still want to know what news you got this morning" I said looking up at him.

"I'll give you a hint…. it involves father" he said.

"Yeah that really narrows it down" I said, giving him a look.

He chuckled, "Don't worry about it, it doesn't matter right now"

I nodded and began playing with his necklace.

"I love you sweetheart" he said in the most sincere voice I had ever heard. I looked up at him.

"I love you too N" I said with a smile.

He grinned, "I really liked it when you called me sweetie yesterday" he said, a blush arising on his cheeks and I could tell he was embarrassed to admit it.

I chuckled, "Noted" I said.

He smiled and switched off the light.

"Goodnight love" he cooed, rubbing my shoulder.

"Goodnight sweetie" I said, half mocking, half serious.

He laughed and kissed me on the forehead.

I smiled and slowly drifted off to sleep.


	31. High Flying Sixth Battle

**So Chapter 31 it is! Yay, I actually had time to write despite playing White 2, which is just as addicting as I thought. **

**This chapter is odd to me, and I have no idea why. The first part is a little blippy, if that is a word... which it isn't; and the end has some of the text from the game when N talks, which always feels a little weird. He always sounds so dang formal in the game, though I guess it is understandable, as it goes along with his character.**

**Anywho, sorry for the rambling, and next chapter should be on Thursday. **

**Aaaand that's it, so enjoy! :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 31: High Flying Sixth Battle**_

The next week was arguably one of the best weeks of my life. I watched an insane amount of movies, and spent more time than I would like to admit with my lips against N's, but what I did the most was train with my Pokémon. Every day I got in a few hours, and it really paid off. By the end my Pokémon had learned many new moves, and to my surprise and happiness Vanillite evolved into Vanillish and Klink evolved into Klang.

Brock called two times too. Ash was flying through the Johto region and had already received his third _and_ fourth badge. I shook my head at how hyper that child was. I had promised Brock once I challenged the Mistralton City gym leader that I would come back to Johto, and that made him extremely happy.

I walked into the living room on day eight of our week, the day I planned on challenging the gym and saw N hunched over his X-transceiver.

"Yes I know" he growled.

A buzz of a voice, too high to be Ghetsis' was heard and N again responded.

"Are you sure?" he whined.

Another pause and the voice seemed to be getting louder, obviously unhappy with N.

"Fine" he spat and hung up.

"What was that all about?" I asked, walking over to sit by N.

He jumped, not realizing I was in the room.

"Just another call for me to go back for another gathering" N said, sounding peeved.

"Well I was going to challenge the gym anyway, so that works out" I said, trying to put a positive spin on the situation.

"I guess" N sighed and pulled me in closer.

After about an hour of N's delays he finally left and I followed him out the door.

"I'll see you later love" he said, leaning down and giving me a peck on the lips.

"See you later N" I said with a smile and watched him walk away. I sighed and looked around.

I really hadn't gotten to see much of Mistralton City, despite staying here for a week. When I had reached the city I had immediately gone to the Pokémon center, and I had spent the next week inside it also. My eyes darted from person to person, and place to place, wondering which way the gym was.

"Hey" I heard a voice to my left say, just as I had decided to head to the right. I turned towards the voice and saw two people approaching me. One was a man who looked to be in his fifties and had a wide smile on his face. He was wearing rather plain clothes but looked a tad familiar. The other was a girl, who didn't look to be much older than myself. She had red hair which was tied up in a bun and wore what looked to be a blue flight suit, though a bit skimpier than what the men wore.

"Your name is White right?" the man asked.

"Uh, yeah" I said hesitantly.

"Good" he said with slight laugh, "I'm Professor Juniper"

I gave him a look and he took note of my skepticism.

"Oh no, the Professor Juniper you know is my daughter, and she has told me a lot about you"

I nodded, realizing my mistake.

The girl gave him a questioning look and he began to explain.

"Skyla, this is White, an acquaintance of my daughters, she was given the pokedex to fill"

"Oh" the girl said with smile, "You must be here to challenge the gym then"

I nodded and grinned.

"Cool, I'm really looking forward to it" she said with a wink.

I was lost, why would she be looking forward to my battle?

"Oh yes" Mr. Juniper said. "Skyla is the Mistralton City gym leader."

"Oh" I said, raising my eyebrows, "nice to meet you"

"The pleasure is all mine" she replied.

"Well, I need to go" Juniper said, "If you ever need anything else Skyla just call"

She made a face, "My plane is for carrying cargo, not people"

Mr. Juniper shrugged his shoulders and gave a charismatic smile before leaving.

Skyla shook her head, "So irresponsible for a world-renowned professor"

I was lost and figured they were talking about a prior incident. She smiled slightly to herself and then turned back to me.

"I would love it if you came to challenge my gym, but earlier when I was flying my cargo plane I saw an injured Pokémon on top of Celestial Tower. I can't very well go and ignore it can I? Anyway, you can follow me there if you like."

Without waiting for my answer she dashed off and left me standing in the same spot, rather confused.

I shrugged, figuring the faster I helped her, the faster a gym battle would come. I trudged onto Route 7. It was a rather short, and had fun little boards to walk across; well they would have been fun for someone who has balance. By the time I crossed it I had caught myself a Cubchoo, a darling thing who seemed to have a perpetually runny nose.

I stepped out of the Route and looked up to see a large stone tower. It looked rather creepy from the outside and I swallowed. I personally loved ghost types; they were my second favorite, right after fire, but when it came to scary things, I was a complete Blaziken. I hesitantly walked in and was surprised to see it was well lit.

I walked for a while, constantly climbing up multiple flights of steps that seemed to go on forever. There were gobs of trainers and I battled them all, winning each one. By the time I had reached the third level I had caught an Elgyem and a Yamask, and so I was satisfied with the trip.

I felt a light tap on my shoulder and sighed, turning around and expecting to see yet another trainer, but instead I saw what looked to be a floating candle. I squinted, yup a floating candle. My eyes widened, wondering what Pokémon was making the small candle float. Soon it turned around and I realized the tiny candle was in fact a Pokémon.

I pointed my pokedex at it.

_"__Litwick, the candle Pokémon. While shining a light and pretending to be a guide, it leeches off the life force of any who follow it"_

'Yeesh, that sounds creepy' I thought to myself as I looked back up at the small floating Pokémon. It made a happy high pitched noise and smiled at me.

I realized I hadn't caught one yet, and I couldn't pass up a fire type so I pulled out a pokeball and held it out in front of me.

"I am going to challenge you, Litwick to a-"

I was cut off by the small thing happily pressing the button and being sucked inside of the ball. My eyes widened as the button turned white and I had myself a Litwick; after what had to have been the easiest capture battle ever.

I smiled to myself as the ball was transferred to Oak's. I trudged up another few flights of stairs before I reached the top and saw Skyla looking up at the sky. I looked around. It wasn't anything special, just a normal roof, aside from the gigantic bell at one end.

"Oh good you came" Skyla said, turning to me. "It _was_ an injured Pokémon after all, I just gave it a max revive and it flew away" she said looking back at the sky and smiling.

"Right, since you came this far how about you ring the bell" she said motioning over to the large gold bell on the other side of the roof.

I gave her an asking glance.

"The Celestial Tower's bell calms the spirits of Pokémon, and its tone is affected by who rings it"

She nodded for me to give it a try and I hesitantly walked over to grab the large knotted clapper. I yanked it towards myself and the bell let off a beautiful melody of sounds, more than one pitch which I didn't know was possible from this type of bell.

Skyla closed her eyes, listening but they soon flew back open.

"Wow" she said, sounding astonished, "That was an amazing sound. It tells me you are a kind and powerful person"

She smiled warmly.

"Anyway, to properly introduce myself. I'm Skyla the gym leader of the Mistralton Gym. I use flying type Pokémon. As soon as you are ready, go ahead and come to my gym. I'll be ready to give you a warm welcome."

With that she called out a large Unfezant, hopped on and flew away.

'Okay then' I thought to myself, 'off to win my sixth badge'.

* * *

I trudged onto what looked to be a runway for airplanes. 'Well, she did say she had her own plane' I thought to myself as I looked closely at all the giant metal transportation systems. I had quickly brought out my Pokémon and briefed them on what was going to happen. Since Skyla used flying types I had figured I would be using Vanillish, who would be strong against them; but when I had suggested this Talace had loudly objected. I smiled and realized that he would insist he was the one to use for all of my gym battles. I had given in quickly and Talace had huffed in approval.

I made my way to the gym and confidently walked through the sliding glass doors. I looked around and my eyes widened. It was a very large building with an extremely tall ceiling; but what amazed me were the large cannons that were evenly spaced throughout the gym.

"Hi there" said the man who always greeted me, and after asking him, found out his name was Clyde.

"Hi" I said and smiled at him.

"Well here you go" he said handing me yet another bottle of water. "As you know Skyla is the gym leader here and she uses flying types."

I nodded and he snapped his fingers, remembering something.

"Oh yeah, and to get to Skyla you are going to have to make use of those cannons"

I gave him a hesitant look.

"How?" I asked, wondering if I was supposed to put a Pokémon in them or something.

"Well, just climb inside of them and you will be shot to another level" he said calmly.

My eyes widened, "Say what now?"

He shook his head and smiled, "It isn't as bad as it sounds"

Well, Clyde was wrong; it was just as bad as it sounded. I had thought the rollercoaster in Elesa's gym was frightening; well this topped it by a mile. However after about a half an hour of getting up the courage to climb into multiple cannons, I had reached the top level and saw Skyla giving me an amused look.

She snickered, "I've been waiting for you. Did you have fun with my pride and joy, the cannons of the Mistralton Gym?" she asked, almost in a mocking tone.

I gave her a look, "Oh yeah, they were a blast"

She chuckled, "Are you ready?" she questioned, holding out a pokeball.

"You bet" I answered and took out Talace's.

Much to my surprise the ceiling opened to reveal an open battle field. 'Her flying types are going to take advantage of that' I thought to myself, trying to come up with a strategy.

"Swoobat let's go" she called and a large bat flew out with a darling heart shaped nose.

"Okay Talace" I called and my Emboar was out in a moment, stomping the ground.

"Let's get this over with quickly, flamethrower" I called and Talace had the flames protruding from his nose before I had even finished calling the attack.

"Dodge" called Skyla, throwing her arm out to the side. The Swoobat quickly flew to the side, but not quick enough. His right wing was hit and he limply flapped it, having troubles staying in the air.

"Okay, arm thrust" I called and Talace charged towards the Pokémon.

"Heart Stamp" Skyla called and the Swoobat's nose glowed pink before sending out a heart towards Talace.

"Arm thrust through it too" I called and he thrusted his fist into the heart, smashing it to smithereens, before he pounded his large hand into the Swoobat sending it spiraling down towards the ground. It struggled to get up but collapsed, knocked out.

I sighed in relief. Flying types were strong against Talace, and Swoobat having a double advantage being a Psychic made me even more nervous to battle it.

"Return" Skyla called, looking a little upset, "Go Unfezant"

The large bird I had seen her fly away on appeared. It looked utterly uninterested with Talace and started preening itself.

Talace looked more than a little peeved and blew a large amount of smoke out of his nose.

"Okay then, arm thrust" I called. He charged and the Unfeasant looked up, its eyes widening.

"Dodge" Skyla called and it flew into the air, easily avoiding.

Talace growled in frustration.

"Razor Wind" she called and the Unfeasant flapped its wings, sending crescents of air plummeting towards Talace.

"Flamethrower then Heat Crash"

Talace fired off the flames, intercepting the wind, and keeping it at bay before the Unfezant had to stop and take a break. Talace easily then formed his Heat Crash and it slammed into the Unfezant, sending it to tumble towards the ground. Right before the Unfezant hit it managed somehow to get itself upright and flap its wings, creating a softer landing. Skyla smirked at me and I smirked right back.

"Grab it Talace" I called and my Emboar clamped his fist around the Unfezant's body.

Skyla looked worried, "Try and get free"

The Unfezant struggled but Talace kept a firm grip on it.

"Get rid of it, then arm thrust again" I said, clenching my hands into fists, anticipating another knockout.

Talace grunted and tossed the Unfezant a few feet up. The bird looked surprised but before it could fly away Talace slammed both fists into it, sending it up into the sky until it was just a dot. I smiled, usually a flying type would be better off in the air, but because of its tired wings, it wouldn't be able to catch itself before it fell this time. Sure enough I was right, and with a loud boom the bird came hurdling back down and made a large cloud of dust. Once it cleared, the bird was in fact unable to continue.

"Return" Skyla said, a worried look on her face. "Swanna it's your turn" she called.

My eyes widened, a water type, I wasn't expecting that. I swallowed and watched as the large swan gracefully landed and trilled, looking happy to be battling.

"Ariel Ace" she called and the Swanna flew into the air, faster than I would have expected. It flew towards Talace and right before I was going to tell him what to do, disappeared.

I looked around frantically, searching for the now invisible Swanna. After a few seconds I heard a high pitched noise and the large bird reappeared and slammed into Talace, causing him to slide backwards. Talace let out a growl.

"Uh" I said, again trying to come up with some sort of strategy.

"Air slash" Skyla called and the large swan's wing lit up and with a precise movement sliced it into Talace.

Talace roared. I could tell he was frustrated and I knew I needed to get it together.

"Ariel Ace into Bubble Beam" she called.

My eyes widened as the large Pokémon once again disappeared.

"Flamethrower all around" I called. Talace echoed my command and sent flames to engulf most of the field, hitting the nearly invisible Swanna in the process, the bird now coming into view.

"Bubble Beam" Skyla called and the large spheres of water flew towards Talace.

"Arm thrust then flamethrower" I called. Talace skillfully thrusted all the bubbles away and blasted a flamethrower to hit the Swanna. The Swanna was weak and I could tell, but then again, Talace was breathing heavily, a little exhausted also.

"Ariel Ace" Skyla called.

I knew she would have some way around the flamethrower if I did it again so I quickly came up with something else.

"Stay still Talace" I called. He gave me an asking glance but nodded.

I waited, listening and when I saw a white blur out of the corner of my eye I quickly called the next attack.

"Head Smash upwards" I called.

Talace jumped with skill, using the increased jumping power he had with Head Smash to quickly get out of the way. The Swanna's eyes widened as it Talace dodged and the bird couldn't slow down quickly enough, resulting in it crashing into the wall.

"Aim it back down" I called and Talace turned on a dime, still about twenty feet in the air, to come hurdling down and smash head first into the Swanna.

I pulled in a sharp breath as Talace climbed off of the bird, but relaxed when I saw the familiar face of a knocked out Pokémon.

"Return" Skyla said, sounding bewildered.

"Great job Talace" I called and ran over towards my Emboar. He was slightly shaking and breathing heavily but I could tell he was proud of himself. As I tackled my Emboar in a hug he quickly turned off the flames around his neck so he wouldn't burn me.

"Return" I called and Talace was sucked back into his ball.

I looked over and saw Skyla walking towards me.

"You are an amazing trainer" she said nodding to herself, "Both my Pokémon and I are glad to have our first real challenge in a long time"

"Here" she said, handing me a badge that looked like a wing. "The jet badge, proof of your win here at the Mistralton Gym" she said with a smile.

"Thanks" I said, carefully snapping it into place in my badge case.

"The next gym is in Icirrus City" she said with a smile, "It's just past Twist Mountain, oh, and…. Team Plasma, if I remember their name correctly is headed that way also"

My eyes widened.

"What are they up to anyway" she asked.

I decided not to answer as she intended it to be a rhetorical question.

"Anyway, good luck" she said, and with a light salute she disappeared. I walked down a long flight of steps and found myself back at the entrance to the gym. I walked out into the city and was surprised to see N standing a few feet away.

"So how did it go?" he asked.

"Good" I replied with a smile, "I got my sixth badge"

He slightly smiled, but had a look of despair in his eyes.

"To understand each other, trainers struggle through battle, and wound Pokémon in the process"

I sighed, after N went to a meeting with Team Plasma he always seemed to obsess over Pokémon liberation more than he had before.

He held out his hands and motioned for me to give him Talace's pokeball. I gave him a confused look but handed it over.

"Am I the only one who sees how very painful it is?"

He closed his eyes for a minute, turning Talace's ball over in his hands.

"Regardless" he said, opening his eyes, "I have talked to your Pokémon" he said, nodding towards Talace.

"I have talked to Pokémon for a long time, as you know, and because of this I know they cannot lie."

I stared intently at N, wondering why he was having this conversation.

"Talace, would you tell me what kind of trainer White is" he whispered and again closed his eyes.

I made a face, N knew what kind of trainer I was, though he hadn't actually really seen me battle, and I had a feeling that was what he was hinting at, but with his next words I realized I was wrong.

He nodded, "So I see, you were born and raised in Nuvema Town, together with your mother"

My eyes widened and I wondered why Talace was telling N these things. N had asked me a boatload of questions over the months but he had never really asked me about my past, and I had always wondered why.

"Taking the opportunity presented to you by the Pokedex you are out on a journey to see the world" he paused and I scrunched my eyebrows together when N suddenly smiled.

"At first you didn't want to battle, you just wanted to have as many Pokémon friends as you could"

Then he frowned, "But after battling for the first time you realized it was something that you enjoyed, and you vowed to become stronger and fulfill both you and your Pokémon's dreams."

He looked back up at me looking confused.

"Even so, for whatever reason your Pokémon seem to trust you" he smiled, "how wonderful"

I smiled also, watching N's elated expression.

"If only all people could get along with Pokémon as you do" he said the sadness returning to his features.

"Yet the fate of Pokémon and humans is left in the hands of those who only use Pokémon for personal gain"

He handed me Talace's ball back and I slipped it into my bag.

"Father is having Team Plasma search for a special stone"

My eyes widened and I leaned forward, intrigued by this information.

"The paired Light Stone and Dark Stone, they are what we seek"

I gave him a hesitant look, I didn't know what stones had to do with Team Plasma's motives but N continued, answering my question.

"The body of the legendary Pokémon was destroyed, and it sleeps in the form of a stone, awaiting the hero's return"

I looked shocked. Team Plasma was searching for the stone that would one day possibly awaken a legendary dragon in the presence of N. I was surprised they were taking such leaps and bounds when they hadn't even found out who the other hero was.

"I will revive the legendary Pokémon from its slumber" N continued, now having a sparkle of hope in his eyes, "and I will befriend it, and the world will recognize me as a hero"

"My dream is to make this world a world without strife" he said, smiling down at me. I was still keeping up, but found myself a bit confused, just as I always did when N talked about awakening the dragon, I felt like there was something he wasn't telling me.

"If the world is changed by force, there will be those who oppose it. And when there is opposition, those wounded are the innocent Pokémon whom foolish Trainers abuse" he said, and I could see a small tear forming in his right eye. He quickly blinked it away. My heart always sank when N showed exactly how much Pokémon liberation meant to him, and he truly believed it was what was right.

"Yes, Pokémon are not playthings for people to control" he growled, looking off to the side, trying not to direct his angry statement at me.

He took a deep breath and looked back at me, "However" he started, smiling lovingly down at me.

"It pains me a little to separate trainers from their Pokémon when there are ones like you who respect each other."

I waited to again feel anger towards N's values but I didn't. He could prove himself if the legendary Pokémon awoke for him, but then again, there would be a different hero, and if what I believed was true, that hero who supported what I believed would no doubtedly win, and then N would be proved wrong, and everyone would be able to keep their Pokémon. I was holding onto that hope for dear life, and I trusted I was right.

N sighed and we both walked back to the Pokémon center.

We talked for a while, mostly about Pokémon, and we talked a little about what he had said. Poor N had everything he believed in riding on this one Pokémon, and what he would prove with it. I wondered how he would react if the other hero proved him wrong, and defeated him. I knew his entire world would be shattered, and that made me a little bit sad.

It was finally time for bed and after about three hours of talking I now had a much better understanding of how N felt, and the whole situation with the legendary Pokémon. The Light Stone held one legendary dragon, and the Dark Stone held another. When one of the legendries recognized a person to be the hero, they would awaken, and pursue that persons dream and ideals faithfully at the hero's side.

I smiled, again wondering who the other hero was. I hoped it was someone strong, someone strong enough to beat N.

I walked into the bedroom and N followed. I yawned and looked at him sadly, realizing I once again had to tell him I was leaving.

"N" I started. He lazily looked over at me from where he was sitting on the bed.

"Yes love?"

"Listen, I decided I am going to go back to Johto tomorrow"

His eyes widened and he quickly stood up, and in a few strides he was in front of me.

"Why?" he asked, hurt in his eyes.

"I have been here for a while, and my Kanto friends have asked me to come back, so I agreed"

He quickly hugged me and I gently rubbed his back.

"Please don't go" he said.

I sighed, "It will only be for a little while N, I'll be back soon"

It went on like that for a while, but finally N realized I had my mind made up and I was leaving whether he liked it or not.

"I can still call you right?" he asked, climbing into bed.

I nodded, "Sure"

I climbed in next to him.

We talked for a while but soon fell asleep. I wondered what N did when I was gone, but figured he was just training. I frowned at the realization I had never seen any of N's other Pokémon, he had said he just had Zorua, but I had a feeling he had acquired a few others lately. I mean, if he planned on becoming the champion of the region to prove himself, he had to have more than one Pokémon.

I smiled to myself, not sure why I was so amused by the thought of N having only one Pokémon.

I fell asleep quickly after that, still wondering who the other hero could possibly be.


	32. A Legendary Capture

**Chapter 32. Holy Frijoles it is short! I didn't know I was capable of making a chapter short anymore, haha. I said not until Thrusday would a new chapter be up, but since this one ****_is _****so short, I decided to do one today too. Just a transitioning chapter, nothing too awfully exciting, but there are a few key things in it.**

**Oh, and do you all like the new picture for the story? I do, and I would love to give credit to the lovely lady who made it.**

**Feel free to review also! *shameless self promotion* haha**

**Anywho, enjoy! :) **

* * *

_**Chapter 32: A Legendary Capture**_

The next morning I woke up extremely early. I rolled over and groaned when I realized it was only six in the morning. I stared at the ceiling for a while then quietly slipped out of bed. N was still asleep and I didn't want to wake him up.

Just as I had finished stretching a loud sound echoed throughout the room and I jumped. It obviously scared N also as he awoke with a jolt.

"Mother of Jigglypuff" he blurted out in his still half asleep state.

I burst out laughing and he smiled at what he had said also. He groaned and picked up his extremely loud X-transceiver.

"Hello" he grumbled.

I heard Ghetsis' voice but still couldn't tell what he was saying.

N listened intently for a while and then nodded. He hung up and yawned, combing his fingers through his hair.

"You're up early" N said, frowning.

"Yeah, I couldn't get back to sleep" I replied.

I got dressed and ate some cereal, eyeing my sleepy Pokémon all the while. As the sun started to appear I returned them to their balls and slipped my bag over my shoulder, straightening my cap, ready for another day of traveling.

"Okay N I'm ready" I called, as he was still in the bedroom.

He walked out, and we both exited the Pokémon center.

N frowned, "I have to go to another meeting, so I can't escort you to the gate"

I still couldn't get over how formal N sounded sometimes.

"That's alright; I was planning on going back to Celestial Tower first anyway".

I had wanted to go up on the roof of it again, and take another look at the bell.

N nodded and quickly hugged me, so tight it began to hurt. I gently patted him on the back and he pulled away still looking sad.

I gently reached up to cradle his face in my hands.

"I'll be back soon" I said smiling, and stood on my tiptoes to kiss him. When I settled back down on my feet he was smiling also.

"I love you White" he cooed.

"I love you too N"

With that we both parted ways and I headed back onto Route 7. I was about halfway through the route when I heard a loud thunder and out of nowhere it began to pour.

"Holy Arceus" I said, covering my head, as I suddenly couldn't see even a foot in front of my face.

"Over here dear" I heard a ragged voice call and I saw the outline of a woman. I quickly headed towards her and she ushered me into her house. I wiped my eyes and wrung out my hair.

"What was that?" I asked, peeking back out the window at the deluge.

"That's Thundurus dear" she said with a smile. She looked older than she sounded, but had a slight smile on her face.

"Wait, like the legendary Pokémon?" I questioned.

She nodded, "Lately he has been on a rampage around these parts, and these storms have become the new normal" she said, walking over to look out the window also.

"That sounds like a pain" I said.

She slowly nodded, "I wish he would calm down, but we simply have no idea why he is angry in the first place."

I frowned, "So you don't know how to stop him?"

She shook her head "It is beginning to be a real problem"

I gave her a confused look, "Why doesn't someone just catch him, that would make these storms stop"

She looked over at me and then back out the window.

"We've tried that darlin, but no pokeball seems to do the trick, and that pesky Pokémon is quite skittish also."

"Skittish?" I questioned.

She nodded, "Any attack that lands, he fires one right back and then flees"

I scrunched my eyebrows together and wondered how he could be caught.

Suddenly the skies turned sunny again and the storm was gone just as quickly as it had come.

"You're a Pokémon trainer right?" she asked in a rushed voice.

I nodded and a wide smile spread across her face.

"Would you try and capture him?"

My eyes widened, "I guess I could try, but-" I stopped and looked out the window, "isn't he gone now?"

She shook her head and hurried over to the door.

"Right after the storms stop is usually when he appears, hurry, go" she quickly ushered me out the door and gave me a reassuring smile.

I smiled hesitantly back at her as she closed the door. I turned back around and jumped a mile when I realized the large Pokémon we had been speaking of was in fact only a few feet away from me, looking at me hesitantly.

My eyes widened; Thundurus wasn't any bigger than I was, but was very intimidating. He had his blue arms crossed in front of his chest and his face was looking at me with a curious disappointment; the Pokémon's form just commanded attention.

'Well, here we go' I thought to myself.

"Sigilyph, come on out" I called, I had formed somewhat of a strategy in the short amount of time, and I figured if I was going to try and capture this thing I needed to go all out.

Thundurus looked skeptically at Sigilyph, looking like he might run away at any second.

"Hypnosis" I called and before the Thundurus knew what hit him he was in a deep sleep.

'Perfect' I thought to myself. Sigilyph and I threw a couple of attacks at the sleeping Thundurus before he began to look weak.

"Alright" I said throwing an ultra-ball at him. Without even a struggle he popped back out. I made a face and threw another; he popped right back out. I knew one more attack from Sigilyph and the poor thing wouldn't be able to be caught so I again tried an ultra-ball; he popped right back out. After using up all of my pokeballs, of which I had a ton I frowned taking out the last one. It was a gift I had received from Professor Juniper the day after my birthday, a Master Ball. I sighed, 'well, I guess a master ball is for a legendary, I just didn't figure I would use it this soon' I thought to myself. I contemplated for a moment before throwing it at the sleeping bolt strike Pokémon.

It wiggled and within a few seconds the dot went white. I smiled as I picked it up, just in time for it to be transferred back to Oak's.

"You did it!" I heard the old woman again call from behind me.

I smiled at her and nodded.

"I cannot thank you enough" she said, shaking my hand.

I smiled and she invited me in for lunch. After I ate with her I made my way back up to the top of Celestial Tower. I called back out Sigilyph and told him what a great job he had done with Thundurus before we flew to the gate. The man checked my pass and sent me onwards.

I flew for a few hours, my mind still on Thundurus. I had actually caught a legendary Pokémon. I grinned, 'just wait until Cheren gets word of this, he will be soooo jealous' I thought to myself.

I flew for a while and in my happy state I took notice of more things. The ocean was beautiful and every once in a while you could see the stray Gyarados thrashing about in the water, or a pack of Lapras. I rested my head on my hands on top of Sigilyph as soon as I hit Johto. Everything was so beautiful; I was truly a lucky person. I had talked to Brock that morning and he had told me where they were. I skillfully directed Sigilyph in the direction and soon saw a trail of smoke. I squinted, wondering whose fire it was coming from but when I saw the giant rock snake Pokémon that belonged to Brock I knew it was the campsite I was looking for. Just before I could direct Sigilyph a little to the right I felt a sharp pain in my left leg.

"Ow" I said out loud. I looked down, waiting to see a Beedrill or a stray poison sting attack but instead it looked like a dart was in my leg.

'What?' I thought to myself, yawning. As I looked closer I realized it was something else. I wracked my brain that was slowly beginning to be tired when I realized it looked similar to a tranquilizer I had seen used on a rampaging Ursaring. My eyes widened but drooped. I heard a whizzing sound and saw two of the same darts protruding from Sigilyph. His flight patterns wavered and he began to fall. I tried desperately to stay awake but much to my dismay felt myself drift off, all the while plummeting towards the ground.


	33. Pokemon Thieves

**Chapter 33; here we go. I am still trying not to make the events in this chapter a big deal, so it will be resolved by the end of the chapter. I personally like this one... but I am still not confident with the wording. Also, the word thieves looks funny to me... I hate when a word does that and you don't kno whether you spelled it right or not. **

**Anyway, I think that is all I have to say. Most likely no chapter tomorrow and one on Monday, Wednesday, Friday next week. I might try and make that my new schedule.**

**And thanks to the peeps that are still sticking with this story even though it is uber long.**

**Anywho, enjoy! :)**

**~Poke-lover88**

* * *

_**Chapter 33: Pokemon Thieves**_

I heard muffled voices as I slowly opened my eyes a crack. Everything was blurry and I couldn't move. I blinked my eyes a few times and slowly but surely my vision started to focus; soon the voices became distinguishable.

"You have the worst aim" I heard a gruff voice say.

"Hey, like you could have done any better Botch" someone replied.

"The name's Butch!" the first man bellowed, obviously unhappy with the mistake.

I stayed still as I shifted my eyes to look around. It was rather dark and I could tell I was in some kind of cave. Much to my surprise the two men were actually carrying me. I tried not to move as I didn't want them to know I was awake yet. What had happened? I wracked my brain and finally remembered. I was flying on Sigilyph and…. oh yeah, I was hit with a tranquilizer. I again blinked my eyes. 'Well, that would explain my foggy state' I thought to myself as I tried to get my brain up and running again. But where was I? Who had done that? Where was Sigilyph? Just as I had started to panic I heard a screeching sound and the men set me down. I now looked up at them and they looked surprised at the fact I was awake.

"Well, she's up now" said the man on the right who had short turquoise hair.

"Yup, better go bring these to the boss" the other man said, patting my bag which was now around his shoulder.

My eyes widened and I tried to get up. The drug of the tranquilizer was still heavily weighing me down and I didn't end up moving hardly at all.

"Where am I?" I managed to ask; glad my speech hadn't been interfered with.

They didn't answer but smirked at me instead. I glared at them and again tried to move towards my bag but I only managed to get myself up about an inch before I collapsed back down on the ground.

"Why do you want my Pokémon?" I asked, hoping they would answer this time and they did.

"We don't want them, the boss does" the blue haired man said.

I gave him an asking look and he rolled his eyes pointing to the bright red R on his chest.

"Wait, you guys are Team Rocket?" I asked.

The other man answered this time, with an amused look, "So she does have a brain"

I disregarded his snide comment and they began to walk away.

"Wait, why does… your boss want my Pokémon?"

They turned back around and the blue haired man again answered.

"Your Pokémon are very strong, and since you rejected his offer to join us, the boss will settle for your Pokémon instead of you."

I widened my eyes. The man I had talked to before was the head of Team Rocket? I was shocked but the feeling soon turned into anger as the blue haired man pushed a button and steel bars came shooting out of the ground, trapping me in the corner.

They chuckled and walked away.

"Wait" I called in a panicked voice. "Come back" I called and again tried to stand up. They couldn't take my Pokémon, they just couldn't, and Sigilyph was probably hurt from the fall also.

My brain hit a catch; why wasn't_ I_ hurt from the fall? I looked down at myself; I had smudges of dirt on my clothes but other than that I didn't even have a scrape. I figured they must've had something to catch Sigilyph and I in and quickly turned my mind back to the task at hand: standing up. I pushed myself off of the ground with one hand and realized the drugs were quickly wearing off. I smiled as I stood up but cried out when I put weight on my left foot. I had had more than my fair share of broken bones as a kid and so I knew the feeling well. I looked down and saw my ankle was swollen. 'Great' I thought to myself, leaning to my right. 'I guess they didn't completely break my fall' I thought while hobbling over to the bars.

Panic once again surged through me as I considered what my Pokémon were probably going through. They couldn't have them, they just couldn't. I shook the bars lightly and realized they weren't going anywhere. 'If I only had Talace' I thought to myself, 'getting out of here would be a piece of cake'.

I sighed and sat back down on the ground, trying to devise a plan. After about an hour of contemplation I still had nothing and I felt tears come to my eyes. I wasn't too worried about myself, but I was worried sick about my Pokémon. They might be doing cruel things to them, testing them, forcing them to do things for Team Rocket. I shuddered and just as the first tear spilled out of my eye I heard a voice.

"White?"

My head snapped up as I recognized the voice and I wiped my tear away, my grimace being replaced with a smile.

"Brock?" I questioned, squinting my eyes, trying to see through the dim cavern.

I soon saw the outline of the person I so hoped it would be and his worry stricken face appeared behind the bars.

"Are you alright?" he asked, concern staining his voice.

"Yeah" I replied lightly, again shoving myself to my feet, to yip out in pain and lean to my right.

Brock looked all around, seemingly assessing the situation.

"What the hell did you get yourself into?" he questioned and I could tell he was trying to lighten the mood for my sake.

I smiled lightly, "Team Rocket-"

Brock cut me off, "I know what happened White. We could see the whole thing, after all we were only about twenty feet away when it happened; we just had to be careful sneaking in here" he said, rattling the bars.

I realized this was probably true since I had been so close to their campsite when I was hit. I suddenly felt guilt, I would never forgive myself if Brock got caught trying to help me.

"Here, watch out" he said, tossing a pokeball up into the air and Geodude appeared.

"Rock Smash" he whispered, and Geodude threw a few punches that bent a few of the bars enough for me to get out. Brock motioned for me to come through and I hobbled out of the opening.

"Thank you Brock" I said, my eyes once again welling up with tears and he quickly hugged me, sighing.

He retuned Geodude and turned to go out; having me put one arm around his shoulder.

"Wait, where are we going?" I asked.

"We are getting out of here" he said, giving me a confused glance as to why I had to ask.

"But my Pokémon" I started, looking over his shoulder at where the men had taken them.

"Yes I know" Brock said, still trying to usher me out.

"No, I have to go get them" I cried, trying to go the other way. Brock skillfully intercepted me and I gave him a stern look.

"Don't worry about your Pokémon" he said.

"What?" I said in a raised voice, "Of course I'm going to worry about them, and I am going to go get them back" I said defiantly, again trying to push past him but he again grabbed onto my waist.

"Ash and Misty went for your Pokémon" he said, sounding a tad irritated.

"What?" I questioned, looking back at him.

"We split up at the beginning because we figured they had taken them, so they went for your Pokémon and I came for you" he said, a slight smile gracing his features.

"Oh" I said quietly. It was sweet Brock had come for me but I still wasn't completely sure I could just leave my Pokémon's fate in the hands of Ash and Misty.

"Don't worry, Ash knows what he is doing, he has obliterated Team Rocket many times and he will do it again" Brock said as he heaved me up onto his back.

"I-I guess" I said, still looking down the path my Pokémon had gone, but wrapped my arms around Brock's neck and he started walking. I found myself smiling at the way we were positioned; I was basically receiving a piggy back ride and I hadn't had one of those since I was about seven when Cheren used to give them to me all the time. He still offered but I would give him an amused look and decline.

In just over a minute we were outside.

I frowned; Team Rocket obviously wasn't too stingy about how they guarded their 'secret' bases if it was _that_ easy to get in and out. But then again, if the Team Rocket members I knew were any indicator, they weren't too used to actually succeeding at anything.

Brock carefully set me down against a tree and kneeled in front of me. He gently took off my boot and sock and felt my ankle. I flinched when he touched certain spots but I wasn't really focusing on my foot, as my eyes were glued to the cave entrance where I so wished Ash and Misty would come out, holding my bag with all my Pokémon inside.

I waited and waited. Brock wrapped my ankle and I half-heartedly thanked him, still focused on my Pokémon.

Pretty soon my wish came true and Ash and Misty ran out of the opening to then be followed by a loud boom and a huge explosion protruding from the cave. My eyes widened but I smiled and tried to stand up when I saw my bag.

"Nope, no you don't" Brock said, pushing me back down and I gave him a frown.

Ash handed me my bag as soon as he reached me and I quickly looked through it, nothing seemed to have been stolen, nothing missing; my eyes widened, except my Pokémon.

I whipped my gaze up to Ash and he knew what I was asking for. He rummaged around in his pocket and pulled out six pokeballs, my Pokémon.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you" I said, leaping up to hug Ash.

I heard Brock grunt and mumble something under his breath about me not greeting _him_ like that.

Ash chuckled and as I let go I quickly grabbed my pokeballs, inspecting each one to see if it was damaged in any way. I quickly put five of them back in my bag but kept out one that was wiggling back and forth. I knew it was Talace's and when he realized something had happened he was desperate to get out. However the only Pokémon who seemed to be able to let themselves out of their balls were Psychic Pokémon or Pokémon with Psychic traits, of which he had none. So he was stuck in his small ball, fighting to get out.

Brock quickly grabbed my arm and lowered me back to the ground. He was good at doctoring Pokémon, so I assumed he knew what he was doing, and I reluctantly complied.

"Come on out Talace" I called and my large Pokémon's wish was granted as he was allowed access out of his ball.

The minute he was out he scanned his surroundings and his eyes finally landed on me. They widened and he quickly rushed over to kneel down in front of me, snorting and grunting quickly. I squinted, not able to tell what he was saying. Where was N when I needed him?

"Talace slow down I can't understand what you're saying" I said, sad that I still couldn't completely translate.

Talace frowned and then leaned forward to give me a hug. I was surprised at this gesture but smiled as the hug had told me all I needed to know. Talace pulled back and waited for me to answer.

"I'm fine, and all of your friends are fine" I said, motioning over to my bag where my other Pokémon were.

Talace grunted and I could see he was now looking at my foot.

"It's nothing that hasn't happened before" I said, and it was the truth. I had broken my left foot three times now and I was almost beginning to get used to it.

Talace looked at me with sad eyes and I could tell he was condemning himself for not being able to help me in a time when I really needed it.

I shook my head, "There was nothing you could've done Talace" I said and he nodded, though I could tell he was still internally beating himself up about it.

I quickly turned to Brock.

"Is there a Pokémon center around here?"

"Uh yeah" he said, looking confused, "don't you mean a hospital?" he asked, again glancing at my foot.

"No, Sigilyph needs to be taken care of" I said and Brock nodded, realizing my mind had been made up.

"Alright" he said, heaving me back onto his back.

I returned Talace and Ash carried my bag. We walked for a while and I was surprised Brock was able to hold my weight; and he didn't even look tired. I then looked over at Ash who was dragging along Brock's backpack, not without a struggle, and realized I probably weighed about the same amount as the large sack. I smiled to myself and rested my chin on Brock's shoulder. His eyes shifted over to mine and he smiled also. I gave him a peck on the cheek and he immediately turned bright red.

"Thank you Brock" I said quietly.

He nodded and gently squeezed my legs.

In about an hour we had reached the Pokémon center and I dropped all of my Pokémon off with Nurse Joy.

She had informed us that they actually had nurses that did work on humans here also so I was brought back and given an X-ray. It was actually not as bad as I had thought, only a crack, and they brought me into a room to bandage it up. The woman who was now gently wrapping my foot had informed me that I would be wearing a boot for the next six weeks, I wouldn't need crutches but I still needed to take it easy. I sighed in relief. Every other time I had a broken bone in my leg I had needed crutches, and those things were a pain in the ass. I had always driven my mother crazy, thwomping around the house and using them as artificial legs. She would scold me but I would be right back at it in under an hour.

I chuckled at the memories. My X-transceiver rang and my eyebrows shot up.

"You can take that dear" she said calmly, still wrapping my leg. I sighed and picked it up, answering it and seeing the person I had figured it would be.

"Hi N" I said with a smile.

"Hello love, did you make it safely?" he asked.

I contemplated but decided to leave the details out, "Yeah, the ride was a little….. bumpy, but I'm here now!" I said with a light chuckled. N squinted.

"Where are you?" he asked.

"A hospital" I answered, looking at the white walls that surrounded me.

"WHAT, WHY?" N screeched and I realized I probably shouldn't have told someone as protective as N this fact.

The nurse dealing with my ankle jumped at N's raised voice but smiled.

"Meh" I said, waving my hand around, "I just hurt my foot, no biggie"

N scowled at me, "Are you alright?"

I nodded, "Yeah I'm fine N"

He frowned further and a worried look appeared on his face.

"Maybe I should come and see how you're doing" he said, and I could tell he was dead serious.

"No" I quickly said, "No need, I'm fine N, really, you don't need to worry"

He pouted but gave in.

"Alright," he said, giving me a look, "But if anything else happens I am going to come over there and drag you back to Unova myself" he paused, "where it is safe"

I rolled my eyes and chuckled.

"Alright N, whatever floats your boat"

He chuckled now also, his worried look slowly dissolving.

I heard the nurse make a sound and realized she was done.

"I have to go N" I said giving him an apologetic look.

He looked sad but nodded.

"Alright, be safe love, I'll talk to you later"

"I will, talk to you later N"

With that I hung up and tucked the X-transceiver back into my bag.

"Alright then" the nurse said, strapping one of the clunky black boots on.

She motioned for me to stand up and when I did I was pleased to realize it didn't hurt anymore.

"Thanks" I said and she nodded. I walked out the door and saw Brock leaning against the wall, nervously tapping his foot.

He looked up and quickly walked over to give me a hug.

'Why is everyone so worried' I thought to myself, 'it's just a little crack'.

"Where's Sigilyph?" I questioned and Brock grabbed ahold of my hand, walking me over to the Pokémon side of the hospital. Nurse Joy stopped us and gave me five pokeballs.

"These are all better, however we will need to keep Sigilyph overnight" she said.

"Is he alright?" I asked; worry seeping through into my voice.

She nodded "He will make a full recovery by the morning"

I sighed in relief and took my Pokémon from Nurse Joy.

Brock led me to the room where Sigilyph was. He was lying on a table and his breathing was labored. Team Rocket had made sure my fall was cushioned but they obviously hadn't given Sigilyph the same luxury. I pressed my hands up against the glass and hoped Nurse Joy was right.

Brock rubbed my shoulder and I resorted to sitting down in a chair across the hall.

"Do you think they will try and steal them again?" I asked absentmindedly.

Brock shook his head and smiled, "I think they will leave you alone, however the Team Rocket we know will still no doubtedly be after Pikachu" he said with a chuckle.

I lightly laughed too and leaned against Brock. He wrapped his arm around me and we stayed like that for a long time. I watched Sigilyph for what seemed like hours, and Brock patiently sat with me, waiting. Soon I found myself drifting off to sleep and when I felt Brock put a blanket around me, smiled, welcoming the feeling.


	34. Taming the Beast

**So chapter 34, here we go. It is a little bit meh to me, but I really have to get this Thundurus stuff happening. Also, I said I would post this yesterday; well, the electricity went out. It had to have been the most sunny and windless day ever... what the heck man. Anyway, enough of my ramblings.**

**Reviews are welcome.**

**Enjoy! :)**

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_**Chapter 34: Taming the Beast**_

I slowly opened my eyes the next morning, letting the least amount of light in as possible. I wasn't in the same place I was when I had fallen asleep and quickly looked around. Brock was sitting in a chair across the room reading a book and I identified that we were in a Pokémon center room. I yawned and sat up. Brock looked up from his book and smiled, closing it and walking over to sit on the edge of the bed.

"How are you feeling?"

"Good" I said in a sleepy voice, rubbing my eyes. I looked down at my leg and it looked the same, well almost. I pulled the boot closer to my face and saw a line of what looked to be glue on it.

"What is that?" I asked, running my finger over the dried glue.

Brock chuckled, "Misty thought it would be a nice surprise for you if she decorated it while you were sleeping"

I widened my eyes.

"She was going to bedazzle it, but I said you might not be too awfully happy if she did"

"Thank you" I said, shuddering at the thought of having a gaudy sparkly thing stuck on my leg for the next six weeks.

"No problem" he answered with a smile. "Oh" he said, walking over and pulling something out of his backpack. "I heard I missed your birthday" he said, sounding peeved.

I knew Misty had known when my birthday was and she must've told Brock. He walked back over to the bed with his hands behind his back. I gave him a wary but excited look.

He proudly handed me something and I carefully took it. It was a short leather strap with something that looked like a claw to one of those games you could try and grab stuffed Pokémon in. I had no idea what it was.

"Oh" I paused, "Thanks Brock" I said with a forced smile and he laughed.

"Here" he said, putting it around my neck and clasping it in the back, "now for a pokeball"

I gave him an odd look but leaned over to grab Talace's. When a pokeball was enlarged it was about the size of my palm, but when it was in its smaller state, it was about the size of a ping pong ball.

He took Talace's minimized ball out of my hand and snapped it into the necklace; the claw fit perfectly and held the ball in place. My eyes widened and I lifted it up so I could see.

"I know how upset you get when you are separated from him, so this way you two will always be close" Brock said with a smile.

I breathed in. It was the most amazing thing I had ever seen, and I reached out to throw my arms around Brock.

"I love it!" I exclaimed. He had hit my feelings about Talace right on the head and now I was oddly more at ease with my Emboar so close.

"You're welcome s-sweetheart" he said, a smile showing through in his voice. I could tell it was awkward for him to call me by a pet name, but he managed to spit it out.

I again looked down at the necklace. It wasn't very long, and so it rested just above where my tank top began, right on top of my heart. I pictured snapping it out and throwing him into battle, and when he was done I would just put it right back into place, never being without my darling first Pokémon. He was huge now, and quite intimidating, but I still thought he was cute. People gave me weird looks when I said this but I could still see Talace as a Tepig, when he was so small and docile.

I looked down at my ring that N had given me and realized that he and Brock had to be the best gift givers on the planet.

Just before I could again express how much I loved the necklace a loud sound echoed over the intercom and Nurse Joy's chipper voice came on.

"Would a trainer by the name of White please come to the front, you have a call waiting"

I frowned, wondering who it could be and trudged up to the front desk, Brock in tow.

Nurse Joy pointed to a phone and I walked over to it to see a distressed Professor Oak. My eyes widened and I started to laugh. I could see his lab had been completely trashed and it was pouring down rain. The professor was soaking wet and every few seconds had to wipe the water out of his eyes.

"White!" he exclaimed, obviously happy I was there.

"What happened?" I asked, amused, already knowing the answer.

"Well, when I realized I received a legendary from you I was extremely excited to get started on observing it" he said, again brushing some water out of his face.

"But he won't calm down!" he said and I saw Thundurus in the background, firing off an electric attack.

"White, I beg of you to take him and train him so he will at least be decent to work with!" Oak said.

"Yeah sure" I said with a chuckle and quickly transferred back Darmanitan.

Oak tried about five times before the red beam of the Master Ball sucked Thundurus back in and he eagerly transferred him back to me.

"Thank you" Oak said, squeezing the water out of his lab coat.

"No problem" I said, still a little amused at the situation.

"You've got a handful there" the Professor said before hanging up.

I turned around, tossing Thundurus' ball a few times, wondering how I could try and train him.

"You caught… a legendary?" Brock asked, sounding dumbfounded.

I nodded, "Well, if I am planning on having every Pokémon discovered, I gotta catch a few legendries in the process" I said with a wink.

The morning went by in a blur after that. Ash and Misty came back at around ten from going to the store. Brock usually did the shopping but I had a feeling he hadn't wanted to leave me alone last night for some reason. After a few hours Nurse Joy told me Sigilyph was all better, and indeed he was, and I was elated.

"So, anything new Ash?" I asked while shoving a delicious biscuit into my mouth during lunch, courtesy of Brock's cooking.

"Well," Ash started, trying to talk in between taking a breath and eating. "I caught a Chikorita, and a Cyndaquil" he said, slurping down some soup. "And a Snorlax and a Noctowl" he added.

My eyes widened. "What Pokémon do you have in rotation then?"

"Uh, Pikachu, Chikorita, Cyndaquil, Totodile, Noctowl, and Bulbasaur"

"What happened to Squirtle and Charizard?"

"Well" Ash again started to talk but shoved some food into his mouth instead, "Squirtle went back to the Squirtle squad and is helping to fight fires again"

He had told me the story of how he had caught Squirtle and so this wasn't too much of a surprise.

"And Charizard?" I asked.

"Well, there is this place called the Charicific Valley where there are a whole bunch of really strong Charizard" Ash said, crunching down on a chip.

"And Charizard, who as you know is obsessed with power" he said glancing up at me for a moment and then back down at his food, "was upset that he was so weak compared to them, so he decided to stay there to train"

My eyes widened, why had Ash let his Charizard go like that? I definitely couldn't do that to any of my Pokémon, even if it _was_ for the best. I frowned; I guess that was selfish of me.

Brock piped in, "But before that happened, Ash and Charizard got really close, and are the best of partners now"

Ash nodded and I smiled.

"OH!" Ash yelled, and we all jumped, he held out his hand and gave me the four badges he had earned.

"Wow" I said, "That's pretty impressive Ash"

He nodded and puffed out his chest, taking back the badges and pinning them to his jacket. I turned to Misty, "And what about you?"

"Well, I caught a Poliwag and a Corsola"

"Cool, I actually haven't seen a Corsola before" I piped in.

"We can go training after lunch" Brock said calmly and we all vigorously nodded.

"What about you Brock?" I asked.

"Well, I caught a Pineco" he said happily, "And Zubat evolved into a Golbat"

"Cool," I said but his face turned sad, "And I had to give back Vulpix to Suzie"

I gave him a questioning glance.

"Vulpix originally belonged to a breeder named Suzie, but she let Brock raise it for a while" Misty answered and I nodded to myself.

Misty gave me an odd look, "What's that?" she asked, pointing to the pokeball around my neck.

"My gift from Brock" I said, twirling Talace's ball around in my fingers.

She clasped her hands together, "How romantic"

Brock chuckled nervously and I smiled.

We all finished lunch and headed outside. I took a long look at their Pokémon, playing with and carefully inspecting each one until I got to Noctowl.

"Holy Arceus Ash!" I exclaimed.

"What?" Ash asked, sounding worried.

"You have a shiny"

"A what?"

"Noctowl, he has different coloring, meaning he is a shiny Pokémon"

Ash still looked lost and I shook my head.

"Long story short they are very rare"

"Oh" Ash said, and laughed, "Yup Noctowl is special alright"

The owl trilled, happy with the compliment.

"What about _your_ Pokémon White?" Brock asked and I could tell he was hinting at Thundurus.

I smiled and called out my Pokémon. Drilbur, Vanillish, Klang, and Sigilyph appeared; I quickly hugged Sigilyph and thanked him for going through all he went through with a smile on his face; if it was even possible for a Sigilyph to smile.

I grinned as I snapped Talace's ball out of the necklace and called him out, it just felt right.

Talace grunted and looked around. He carefully watched me, along with Brock as I took out the Master Ball and took a deep breath.

"Alright Thundurus, come on out" I called. He soon appeared and quickly assessed his surroundings. He crossed his arms when his eyes landed on me and I could tell he recognized me as his trainer.

"Hi Thundurus" I cooed. His black tail crackled and I could tell he was still agitated. I had no idea why he was mad in the first place and that was going to make training him a pain in the butt. I looked over to my traveling companions and their mouths were slightly open. Thundurus stayed still for a while, sizing each of us up. I could tell he wasn't too fond of any person _or_ any Pokémon; but he just simply seemed curious about me. I knew legendries were very proud and very powerful, and I could tell he had some sort of respect for the fact I had captured him.

I opened my mouth to start speaking but stopped, not sure what to say. Thundurus let out a low sound and then an electric attack that suddenly signaled the clouds to start pouring down rain.

"Really?" I said quietly, hoping he wouldn't be angry if he realized everyone was friendly. Talace growled and quickly turned off the flames around his neck, obviously unhappy with the sudden downpour.

"Cyndaquil return" Ash called and I figured I should do the same.

"Alright Talace" I called, snapping the pokeball back into the necklace when he was safely in his ball.

I mumbled to myself before I walked over to where Thundurus was, looking like he could blow up with anger.

"Why are you so angry Thundurus?" I asked.

His eyebrows shot up and he gave me a confused look, finally I realized he was surprised I cared.

"Please just tell me Thundurus and I can try and make it better, I _am_ your trainer after all" I added the last part, hoping it would shock him into stopping. The thunder stopped but the rain continued. He looked at me skeptically and I could tell he had some sort of issue with people.

"Please Thundurus"

He looked to the side at Brock, Misty, Ash, and their Pokémon.

"Don't worry, they are friends, they won't hurt you"

I could tell something had happened to make Thundurus hesitant towards people, but I couldn't imagine what. Thundurus watched me for a while, as I sputtered on the water trying to keep eye contact with the legendary Pokémon. He finally uncrossed his arms and sent another electrical attack into the sky, stopping the rain. I sighed in relief as the sun came back out and shook off the water.

I looked back up to Thundurus and realized he had a sad look on his face. I frowned, not sure if I could understand what he was saying even if he _would_ tell me what was wrong.

"Thundurus, please tell me what's wrong" I said in a soft voice.

He looked me up and down, and for a few agonizing minutes I stood there with a pleading look on my face, hoping he would give me a chance. Finally he nodded and I could tell he was ready to try and explain.

I smiled, "Thank you, now why are you so angry?"

He let out some low sounds and I got the gist of what he was saying. He wasn't happy he had been captured; but there was something else. It was because of some past experience he was so unhappy with being caught, and as I had already picked up, he was quite weary of humans.

"I can't understand all of it Thundurus" I said in an apologetic tone.

"Please tell me why you are hesitant to have a trainer" I tried to look desperate and he again nodded.

He let out a wide variety of sounds and I realized what he was telling now was a story, except I couldn't understand one word of it. I frowned and called out Talace, hoping maybe he would be able to translate easier. My plan didn't work however and I sat down on the ground, scratching my chin, deep in thought.

"How about you try and use motions and signs to try and get it across" I said. I knew it would be a lot easier just to call N, but I wanted to figure this one out on my own.

Thundurus nodded and thought for a second. Misty, Brock, Ash, and all of our Pokémon gathered around, determined to help me figure out the story through this game of charades.

Thundurus sighed and then pointed to me with a grunt. He obviously meant trainer and I nodded. I jumped however, as I heard Ash call out what he thought Thundurus meant.

"Girl! Woman! Wait no, White! Black! Purple! Color! Number! Shape! Square! Cube!" Ash was obviously a very competitive person and was determined to win this game, even though it wasn't a competition. I could tell where his train of thought was going, but it was in the wrong station.

"He means a trainer dumbass" Misty said, punching Ash in the arm.

"Oh" Ash said, looking embarrassed.

For around the next half hour we had one of the most intense games of charades ever. At first it went a little slow, but after a while we began to understand. We also were constantly laughing at Ash's off the wall ideas of what Thundurus was saying and even at times I saw a smile crack onto the legendary Pokémon's face at one of Ash's comments.

Finally after another ten minutes my eyes widened.

"Wait, I think I've got it!" I shouted and jumped up to my feet. Thundurus waited patiently for me to go on.

"Okay, this is what I think you are saying." I cleared my throat and began.

"A while back you were caught by a trainer. As any legendary would be, you were at first upset with this trainer for catching you; but after a while you grew to like the boy." I paused and Thundurus nodded, letting me know I had it right so far.

"You trained with him for a few months and as the boy began to acquire other Pokémon he started to ostracize you" I again paused and Thundurus nodded again.

"Pretty soon he released you and told you" I paused as this was the part where I had troubles understanding Thundurus, "He told you that you were a weak Pokémon and didn't deserve a trainer because they would just be wasting their time on you." Thundurus nodded sadly but I could tell there was one other detail, "And he also said such a weak Pokémon didn't deserve to have the label of being a legendary"

I stopped and Thundurus looked up at me and nodded again, letting me know I had the whole thing.

"You were angry and so you started rampaging around Route 7, where the boy let you go" I said quietly and my heart sank for the Pokémon.

"Well that boy is a jerk" I said loudly and Thundurus' head snapped up.

"I am you trainer now, and I can tell you that I would never say anything like that. You are very strong, and I can make you stronger"

Thundurus looked shocked at my words but soon a smile spread across his face. I knew with that comment alone I had broken the large Pokémon's hesitancy for me.

"What do you say?" I asked and held out my hand.

Thundurus looked at it hesitantly but after a while placed his shockingly human hand into mine and shook it once.

"Good" I said to myself.

Thundurus refused to train for the rest of the day however, and I could tell he was trying to size up the competition; aka, the other Pokémon on my team.

I shook my head, knowing that when Thundurus _did_ decide he was ready to train, he was still going to be a handful.

After the day was over we all returned our Pokémon and retired to bed. I saw Ash was a little jittery and realized he was eager to move on and get his next badge; but he didn't want to force me to move on if I wasn't ready yet.

"So where is the next gym?" I asked, loud enough for both Brock and Ash to hear.

"It's in Cianwood City" Brock replied.

Ash started shaking with excitement and I chuckled.

"If you all are ready I am good to start off towards Cianwood tomorrow"

"Yes!" Ash exclaimed and happily danced into the other room to tell Misty.

Brock gave me a hesitant look as he climbed in bed beside me.

"Are you sure?"

I nodded, "I came here to travel with you guys right?"

He nodded and kissed me on the forehead, wrapping one hand around my face afterwards.

"You know I missed you right?" he said with a smile playing on his lips.

I giggled, "Yes I know" I said and removed his hand from my face. He frowned and I chuckled while moving closer to him and pressed my lips gently against his. He froze but quickly wrapped his arms around me. I pulled back after a few seconds and Brock had a goofy grin on his face.

"That was fun" he said, looking like he was in a daze. I snickered and settled down under the covers snuggling my head on Brock's chest.

"Goodnight s-sweetheart" he said. I could tell he wanted to call me by a pet name but he still felt awkward about it.

I smiled, "Goodnight Brock"


	35. Slipping Into Old Routine

**So chapter 35 it is. I again have a little preface thingy, hence why the chapter title isnt right below the A/N. This is a transitioning chapter, so it is kind of blippy, as you can tell by the plethora of page breaks; but a lot happens so it's all good. :)**

**I personally really like the next chapter. Oh and again a big thanks for all of you who keep sticking with this story even though it is so long, Pichus for all of you!**

**Anyway, I hope you all enjoy! :)**

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Ghetsis paced back and forth in his office. 'Where is that boy?' he questioned to himself, his eyes flicking up to the door then back to the ground where he had been walking back and forth for the past ten minutes. N hadn't been late for anything in his life and Ghetsis had come to expect nothing less, so when N _was_ late for once, it had struck worry into his mind.

His head snapped up when he heard a knock on the door.

"Come in" he said and the door creaked open to reveal the younger version of himself.

"You said you wanted to see me Father?" N questioned, looking around the small room where there were at least twenty guards, all packed closely together.

"Yes N, we have finally found what we have been looking for" Ghetsis said, excitement dancing in his one red eye.

N looked shocked and quickly closed the door behind him.

"You have? Where is it?" N asked, his hands shaking with excitement and anticipation.

Ghetsis smirked and walked around behind his desk to pull open a drawer. He lifted a wooden box out and walked back to stand in front of N.

N reached towards the box, not able to contain his excitement any longer but Ghetsis pulled it away from him and gave a warning glance.

"Now remember N, remember all of your goals, and remember what this stone means to _us_" Ghetsis made sure and put emphasis on the word 'us'. He knew it was all in the boy's hands to get the legendary Pokémon out, but he still wanted a slice of the success that came along with it.

N nodded and this time Ghetsis allowed him to open the box. N's eyes shone bright, in a way that hadn't been seen before as he carefully lifted out a bright white stone.

"So this is it?" N questioned, a smile cracking onto his face.

Ghetsis nodded.

"Wow" N whispered and brushed his fingers over the Light Stone, the key to what he had been working towards his entire life.

* * *

_**Chapter 35: Slipping Into Old Routine **_

I grumbled as someone's hand shook me awake. I finally gave in to opening my eyes and realized it was Ash.

"What do you want?" I snapped, not happy being awoken this early.

"It's time to go!" he said, obviously excited.

I mumbled to myself as I got out of bed and got dressed for the day. I brushed my hair and tied it up in its usual ponytail and quickly put on my cap.

"You ready yet?" Ash poked his head back in after only leaving me alone for five minutes.

"Yes Ash" I said with a smile on my face at how eager he was this morning.

We headed out towards Cianwood City and I was again brought back to the happy feelings of traveling with my Kanto friends. Ash always walked ahead either whistling to himself or talking to Pikachu about his next strategy; Misty walked beside Brock and I, playing with Togepi who would squeal in delight every few seconds; and I just walked hand in hand with Brock, assessing the scenery, taking in all I could.

"How far away is Cianwood City?" I asked.

"We should be there by tomorrow" Brock replied, again taking a look at the map.

"Gotcha" I said with a smile.

After we had been walking for about half an hour I heard my X-transceiver ring and I picked it up, still walking.

"Hello" I said and someone that I didn't expect showed up.

"Hi White" and I saw Cheren's familiar face.

"Oh, hi Cheren what's up?"

"I can't find you anywhere, I wanted a battle, where are you?" he asked, looking like he was beginning to pout.

"I'm in Johto Cher" I said with a chuckle.

"Oh" he said looking surprised, "Well I guess that would explain it"

"Why don't you call Bianca up for a battle?" I asked.

"She is pretty easy to beat, no offense to her, but you are more of a challenge; since I haven't exactly won against you before" he said with a scowl.

I laughed, "Well, we will be sure and have a battle when I come back" I said.

Cheren nodded and I said a quick goodbye.

"Who was that?" Brock questioned.

"Cheren" I answered flatly.

Brock made a face, "Should I be jealous?"

I burst out laughing, "No, Cheren has been my best friend since I was two; I don't think you need to worry about him being anything more than a friend"

Brock nodded to himself and we continued on.

We set up camp early because Ash had decided he wanted to get some training in before the sun went down.

"Come on out" Ash called and out came his Bulbasaur and Chikorita.

"Chika Chika" the tiny grass Pokémon trilled, quickly running over to rub against Ash's leg.

I chuckled, "I guess you have an admirer Ash"

He scratched the back of his head and smiled, "I guess so"

"Dinner will be ready in about forty-five minutes" I heard Brock chime in and we all nodded.

"Hey!" Ash called, "How about we have a battle"

"I don't know Ash" I said; I hadn't been planning on battling with him anytime soon.

"Yeah, and you can battle against Bulbasaur with Thundurus"

I gave him a hesitant look.

"Hey, Bulbasaur is a grass type so electric attacks shouldn't do much."

It took about five minutes but finally Ash convinced me. I quickly took out my pokedex and scanned Thundurus' ball to see what moves he had. My eyes widened, his moveset was impressive; his past trainer had taught him some lethal combinations.

"Okay Bulbasaur"

"Okay Thundurus"

Soon they were both out.

Brock was sitting on a rock, cutting up vegetables and Misty was sitting beside him, peeling a potato.

"Alright, this is a match between Bulbasaur and Thundurus; begin!" Brock said quickly, obviously wanting to get on with the match.

"Okay razor leaf" Ash called and the leaves came flying out of Bulbasaur's back.

I wasn't used to battling with Thundurus so my reaction time was a little off.

"Uh, thunderbolt" I called, not sure if he was even going to obey me, but he did.

He let off a low sound and a huge electric attack flew out from him. The bolts flew in every direction and started tearing up the ground around him. I jumped as one hit about a foot from me.

"Jeez" Misty cried, running behind a tree that then got hit with a bolt and fell down with a large boom.

Brock skidded out of the way right before one hit the rock he had been sitting on and ran like a mad man trying to keep the vegetables he had been cutting from getting fried.

"Woah stop!" I yelled and Thundurus ceased his attack.

We all sighed in relief and when I looked across the field realized Bulbasaur was knocked out.

'Well I guess one actually hit him' I thought to myself while assessing the damage around me. There was rubble everywhere, knocked down trees, and multiple holes in the ground.

"We need to work on aim" I said with wide eyes.

Thundurus looked around and scratched the back of his head sheepishly, looking sorry for what he had done. I worked with Thundurus for the remaining amount of time Brock was cooking and realized we didn't need to work on aim as much as we needed to work on controlling his power. I had told him to use iron tail and he had smashed into the tree so hard he sent it flying into three more, knocking them all into a Beedrill nest. That was sure a fun experience… not.

Thundurus had looked upset when I had told him he needed to take it down a few notches and crossed his arms in defiance. I shook my head and returned him as Brock called for dinner.

We ate what had to have been the best stew I had ever had, the whole time filled with conversation about Ash's next gym battle. Or more accurately; Ash and Misty arguing about it.

"You're too cocky Ash; you are just going to be disappointed when you lose"

"I'm not going to lose, and I am confident not cocky"

"Your ego is huge, and yes you are going to lose"

"Am not"

"Am too"

"Am not"

I leaned against Brock and he chuckled.

"I guess I didn't exactly miss _this_" I said with a laugh and he nodded.

After the delicious meal we all climbed into our sleeping bags. When I was back in Unova I had meant to pick up a bag of my own but had forgotten and so once again I snuggled in with Brock.

He grinned. "I'm really glad you forgot"

I rolled my eyes but smiled.

"Have you dealt with Ash's snoring?" I questioned.

He nodded, "Watch"

In about a minute Ash rolled over onto his back and the snore that sounded more like a chainsaw once again erupted from his mouth.

Brock let out a low whistle and Pikachu waddled over to grab Ash's hand.

"Chuuuuuu" he called and lightly shocked Ash.

Ash surprisingly didn't wake up but when he relaxed again he oddly enough wasn't snoring.

I gave Brock a confused look and he shrugged, "It seems to clear his sinuses or something"

I laughed and snuggled into Brock's chest. He began shaking and I looked up to see him looking really nervous.

"What's wrong Brock?"

He didn't answer but lifted my chin so he could plant a kiss on my lips. My eyes widened in surprise but quickly closed and I wrapped my arms around his neck. I pulled back after a few seconds and Brock smiled.

"Thank you" he whispered.

I made a face, "You don't need to thank me for that silly"

I giggled and again snuggled nearer to him.

I could feel him sigh and heard his heart rate quicken. I smiled and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Sure enough we arrived in Cianwood City by around noon the next day. Ash proudly strutted into the town like he had lived there all his life and marched straight to the gym. He knocked a few times on the door… nothing.

We were finally informed that the gym leader who was apparently named Chuck was down at the beach training. We all trudged down to the beach and my eyes widened when I saw the sight.

"Machoke, submission" the man called and the Machoke used a submission attack on his trainer, sending him flying. The man hopped right back up however and we continued to watch his odd training regimen until he realized he had onlookers.

"Hi, can I help you?" He questioned in a booming voice that caused both Misty and I to jump.

"Are you Chuck?" Ash questioned hesitantly.

"Sure am" the man said, puffing out his chest.

"Well then I'm here to challenge you to a gym battle" Ash said, also puffing out his chest.

The man gave a devious grin and led us all back up to the gym. Brock, Misty and I sat in the stands, awaiting what was sure to be a good battle.

"Alright Ash, I hope this is a good one" Chuck bellowed, his mustache quivering as he smiled.

"It will be" Ash said with a determined look.

Chuck called out his Machoke and Ash his Chikorita. They battled for a few minutes, no attacks making much damage; that was until Chuck used submission and it really did a number on Chikorita. I leaned forward, again engrossed in the battle I was watching. With a bright flash of white Chikorita evolved. I personally believe the only reason she evolved at that moment was because she wanted to please Ash, as she obviously was very fond of her trainer. Chikorita who was now a Bayleef, managed to beat the Machoke using speed and skill and we now eagerly awaited Chuck's second Pokémon. He called out a Poliwrath and since Bayleef was a grass type, Ash had the advantage. They both landed attacks, neither backing down. But with a well-timed double slap from the Poliwrath, Bayleef was knocked out.

Ash looked sad at first, but the determination was flickering in his eyes wildly after a few moments.

"You ready Pikachu?" he asked.

"Pika Pika" the small electric Pokémon chirped and stood, ready to battle.

It was a brutal battle to the end, and once again I was squeezing Brock's hand so tight that I'm surprised I didn't break it.

"Thunderbolt" Ash called. And with that, everything was over and Ash was victorious.

"Yes!" Ash yelled and pumped his fist into the air. My death grip on Brock lessened and he let out the air that he had probably been holding in since I had latched onto his wrist.

"Good job Ash" Chuck said with a slight smile and handed him his badge.

"Alright, I got the Storm badge" Ash said and held it out in front of him as if showing some invisible person.

"Pi-Pikachu" Pikachu squeaked, and made a peace sign with his tiny hand.

* * *

"So where's the next gym Brock?" Ash questioned that night while polishing his badges, a wide grin from ear to ear appearing on his face.

"Um, let me check" Brock said and leaned over the edge of the bed to grab his bag. We were once again in a Pokémon center room and it had two sets of bunk beds.

Misty's head poked down from the top one and watched Brock who was beneath her. "I hope it isn't too far away" she said.

"From what this says it is in Olivine City" Brock piped in, "And we should be able to make it there in… a week and a half"

Misty frowned but shrugged, not happy or sad with how long it would take.

"Alright then, Olivine City it is" Ash said, putting the badges back into his jacket. He laid his hat on the ground and flopped down, Pikachu curling up in a tiny ball on his chest.

Misty laid down also and I again decided to stick with sleeping in the same bed as Brock.

* * *

And so for the next four days we slipped back into our traveling routine. We walked almost all day, and met some very interesting Pokémon and people while we were at it. We camped out at night and trained before bed and in the early mornings. Thundurus and I got rather close, but I was still having troubles with him. He would refuse to listen to my comments about how he needed to control his attacks, so we would usually leave smashed trees and holes in the ground in our wake. However on the fifth day since Ash won his fifth badge, Professor Oak called.

"Hi White"

"Hi Professor, why are you calling?" I asked. He had called my X-transceiver and I figured it was important if it couldn't wait until a Pokémon center.

"I just wanted to know how training with Thundurus is going" he said, and I could tell he was trying to transition into the real question.

"It is going good, he has calmed down now"

Oak's eyes lit up and he cleared his throat. "If you don't mind, if he really is decent now, I would love it if I could do some research on him for a while"

I smiled. Thundurus' training seemed to have hit a dead end with his attitude and so I figured it would be good for the bolt strike Pokémon to have a rest.

"Sure, I'll transfer him at the next Pokémon center"

"Good" Oak said with a wide grin and hung up.

Turns out the next Pokémon center was just a few hours walk away and I went ahead and gave back Thundurus.

"Thanks White" Oak said, carefully placing the Master Ball on the desk in front of him.

"It's going to be weird only having five Pokémon" I said absentmindedly.

"Well" Oak started, "There is actually someone who seems to want to be with you"

I gave him a confused look and soon saw my Litwick's face on the screen.

"Litwick-wick" it chirped with a smile as it saw me.

"Hi there, so are you wanting to come and train with me?" I asked, an amused look on my face.

It nodded feverishly and Oak sent it over.

That night I went ahead and brought it out to meet the others. It fit right in without even trying and as I looked around I realized how perfect this bunch of Pokémon felt. It felt like after Litwick had joined, I finally had all of my family members there; and in that moment I realized I had my final team. I smiled to myself and picked up the small candle Pokémon, careful not to burn myself on its flame.

"You ready to train?" I asked. It nodded and we began.

Litwick was a natural, and since I was used to dealing with fire types it made my life a lot easier also.

It turned out in that small town there was also a trainer's school and we got a free day of lessons. I learned a lot there about my Pokémon; and I also learned Pineco was rather fond of blowing up in Brock's face. That of which I thought was hilarious, and Brock would give me a stern look every time I laughed, a smile soon breaking out on his face also.

* * *

The next day was devoted to training. I watched Ash for a while before I turned to my Pokémon and began working with them. I mainly focused on Drilbur. The tiny Pokémon was a handful but very powerful. After every win or every compliment he would dance around happily and tug on my arm, making sure I had seen what an amazing job he had done.

I sat down and looked out the window of our Pokémon center room that night. I watched the stars and I could hear the soft breathing of my sleeping traveling companions. I remembered watching Chuck that day on the beach, literally training _with_ his Pokémon and my hand found its way up to Talace's ball. I thought for a moment before I quietly left the room and went out into the large field beside the Pokémon center. I called Talace out and decided to try a new type of training.

"Okay Talace we are going to try something new here" I said hesitantly. He gave me an asking glance and I explained how Chuck trained with his Pokémon. Talace stomped the ground and refused to hit me with an attack. I shook my head and told him I had something else in mind.

"Your arm thrust is the only fighting move you have, and it could come in handy, however a move like that can be easily blocked, so we need to work on your combinations; which will make it more difficult to stop"

Talace nodded and I proceeded to talk to him about different ways to throw a punch. I honestly hadn't ever punched anything or anyone so I figured maybe I wasn't the best teacher but Talace seemed to learn quickly and his large fists were soon mimicking mine.

"Right" I called and threw out my right arm, Talace mirrored me.

"Left" I called and we both threw a left handed punch at the air.

Soon we got quicker at it and it began to be almost like a dance, mirroring each other in perfect synchronicity. After about a half an hour I told Talace what a great job he had done and returned him for a rest, clicking his ball into place in the necklace. I smiled to myself as I walked back into our room but jumped when I realized Brock was now looking out the window. He turned around when I came in and he smiled.

"I saw you training" he said in a soft voice.

"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up"

He shook his head, "It was mesmerizing"

"What?" I whispered, still trying not to wake up Misty or Ash.

He shrugged, "You two work in complete harmony with each other; it was almost like watching a movie"

I blushed lightly and climbed into bed and Brock followed.

I put my head on his chest and rested my hand beside me.

I heard Brock grunt and felt him lift up my hand. I looked at him skeptically. His brow was furrowed and he looked almost confused.

"What's this?" he asked, motioning to N's ring that was still lightly flickering, creating a low glow.

"Oh, N gave it to me" I said absentmindedly, again resting my head on his chest.

He again grunted and I shifted my eyes to look up at him.

"Is that a problem?" I asked with a smile in my voice, amused that Brock was jealous.

"No, I guess not" he said quietly, letting go of my hand.

"He hasn't called for a couple of days" he added and I scrunched my eyebrows together. Brock was right; N hadn't called for the past two days.

I shrugged, "I guess he's busy"

Brock sighed and I leaned up to kiss him on the cheek. He again turned a dark shade of pink and I chuckled.

"Goodnight Brock" I said.

"Goodnight sweetheart" he said without pausing; I guess he was finally getting used to the name.


	36. Comfortable

**And Chapter 36 it is! I usually have some rhyme or reason for the title, but this time I just picked something that doesn't really have to do with the chapter, but I think it fits it nicely. That was an odd way to word it.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy! :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 36: Comfortable**_

We headed off again towards Olivine City the next morning. I quite enjoyed Johto; the people in this region were different, almost nicer. Unova was known for having a wide range of people and I found it interesting how everyone in Johto was quite even tempered. The Pokémon in the Johto region were also quite interesting. In Unova we had our specific lot of Pokémon, none from other regions except on the far east side where hardly anyone was allowed; and no other region had our type of Pokémon either.

I was probably quite stupid with how I approached wild Pokémon though, just assuming they would like me, but I had never had an incident so I kept greeting them with a smile and an outstretched hand. I stopped this however when I messed with an agitated Ursaring and scared us all half to death.

For the next few days everything went according to plan. We were on schedule to arrive in Olivine City in the next three or four days and Ash was more pumped than ever.

I trained also and my Pokémon seemed to be benefiting from all of my attention greatly, learning many new moves. I sat down for dinner that night on the grass, liking how cool it felt and my eyes glanced over to where all of our Pokémon were happily munching away. I smiled as I watched Drilbur catch sight of a Beedrill and quickly chase it off. I chuckled to myself and took another bite. He came back and again tugged on my arm, asking if I had seen what a great job he had done.

"Yes, that was wonderful, thank you" I said and petted his head. He looked like he could explode with happiness but instead flashed a bright white. My eyes widened as my small Drilbur soon morphed into a much larger and much more intimidating creature; an Excadrill.

Everyone gaped at the new Pokémon and I smiled.

"Great job Excadrill" I said, marveling at the new Pokémon. He now had the characteristics of a steel type Pokémon as well and it was easily visible. He had a large metal claw coming out of his neck that arched over his head; also the claws on his arms were now made of steel. He marched over and sat down next to his bowl, looking proud of himself.

"Wow" Misty said, shuddering, "He's scary"

I laughed, "And yet he is still a sweetheart" I said while watching him happily chow down on Brock's delicious Pokémon food.

We finished our meal and I helped clean up. Brock thanked me with a kiss on the cheek and I was blushing as much as he was. I again plopped down on the grass and pulled out the book on Pokémon Cheren had given me. Sure enough it was much more updated and had more current information than my old beat up one had. Out of the corner of my eye I again saw Excadrill chase away the same Beedrill, who was bound and determined to get some Pokémon food; Excadrill marched back in, looking proud. I had looked back down at the book but then felt a sharp pain in my right arm.

"Hrng" I let out, biting my tongue at the pain. I turned a little to see Excadrill, again tugging on my arm, wondering if I had seen what a great job he had done. The only difference was that his normally dull claws were now sharp as razors, and made of metal which had borne a large slice in my arm.

"Ow" I mumbled to myself, looking at the back of my bicep which was now bleeding profusely.

Talace and Brock both noticed at the same time and both acted similarly. Talace stood up and roared at Excadrill, blasting a flamethrower to hit him, sending him backwards and almost knocking him unconscious. I could tell Talace was furious Excadrill had hurt me and I pinched my mouth into a worried line, wondering how this was going to play out.

Excadrill was now angry also and let out an earthquake attack. It was quite effective against Talace and now the whole camp was shaking. Brock had quickly stood up and started to rush over to me, but now was stumbling around with the shaking ground, trying to walk in a straight line.

Vanillish let out a small jingle and looked scared half to death while Klang and Litwick looked to be almost bored with the situation. Talace growled and quickly started slamming his fists into Excadrill. My eyes widened, not sure what to do but Sigilyph did. He was a flying type and so he wasn't affected by any of this and sent out a Hypnosis attack to calm both Excadrill and Talace, sending them into a deep sleep. The earth stopped moving and I sighed, still clutching my arm tightly, trying to stop the bleeding.

"Thanks Sigilyph" I said with a smile and he chirped in recognition, to then return to his bowl and happily finish his dinner.

Brock quickly bandaged me up, now for the second time and I wondered why I was suddenly so accident prone as I looked down at my leg that was still in the large boot.

"There" Brock said, smiling, "All better"

I looked at my arm and smiled as I realized the bleeding had stopped, and he had successfully wrapped it up.

"Thanks Brock" I said and leaned forwards to gently press my lips to his cheek. I leaned back and he scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Aw, it was nothing"

Soon enough Talace and Excadrill slowly awoke. Talace began to growl again and I scolded him. He looked hurt and grunted, saying he was only trying to protect me. I shook my head and told him that it was an accident. He eyed Excadrill carefully but returned to his food. Brock also shot an accusatory glance towards Excadrill and I patted him on the shoulder, also telling him it was an accident. I walked over and knelt next to Excadrill.

He grunted and I could tell he was saying he was sorry.

"It's alright sweetie. You just have to be careful now. Those things are weapons, and so you can't exactly act the same way as you did as a Drilbur." I said, pointing to his talons.

He nodded and moved his claws around, trying to get used to them. I knew right after a Pokémon evolved it would have some issues if it gained a type or some physical trait. I had had troubles with Darmanitan because after he evolved he had to walk on four legs instead of two, and it had taken him a long time to get used to that. Also when Venipede evolved into a Whirlipede and had to roll around everywhere. So now it was Excadrill's turn to get comfortable with his new assets.

* * *

We traveled for two days after that before we set up camp in a beautiful clearing by a lake that had an abandoned cabin.

"This looks like a good spot" Brock said, dropping his bag to the ground.

That day we had a ton of fun, we went swimming, and trained. It reminded me of our days in the Orange Islands and I smiled at the memory. I however couldn't get in the water with my foot so I just laid at the edge of the lake, watching Ash and Misty splash around. Brock stayed with me because he felt bad. I told him he could go join in but he refused and said he would much rather stay out with me. He sealed this promise with a kiss and I didn't protest after that.

We all climbed into bed that night with a smile on our faces.

* * *

The next morning I woke up and decided to go get some firewood. I looked around the camp and saw a familiar sight. Ash playing with Pikachu, Misty trying to help Brock cook, but being distracted by Psyduck, who was trying as hard as he might to help, but just ending up making things worse; and Brock hunched over a pot, boiling water.

I headed out and came back with an armful of logs. I set them down and frowned.

"Where's Brock?"

Misty sighed, "He's sick"

"I just saw him about ten minutes ago and he was fine" I said in disbelief.

"He just collapsed" Ash said, "and so we dragged him back to bed"

I frowned and walked into the cabin to see that they were right. Brock was lying in bed, a light sheen of sweat covering his face and neck.

"Oh, sweetie" I said in a sympathetic voice. Golbat and Pineco were keeping him company and watched as I pulled a stool over to sit by his bed.

He turned to me and tried to get up.

"Nope, no you don't" I said pushing him back down.

He protested, saying he had to make lunch but I shook my head, telling him we could take care of it for a day.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm sure" I said with a smile, brushing some hair out of his face. I found a washcloth and dampened it to put it on his forehead.

"So what do we need to do that you usually do?" I asked.

"Well, it should all be in my journal" he said.

I nodded, "Alright, you get some rest and we will take care of everything"

I gave him a peck on his cheek and squeezed his hand before I left.

As soon as I exited the cabin Misty and Ash bombarded me with questions as to what we were supposed to do all day.

"He said it was all in his journal" I said and fished it out of his backpack. I plopped down on the ground and opened it to the page that was titled, 'Daily Chores'. I skimmed the list and sighed, Brock did a lot more than I realized. Misty, Ash, and I went over the list, divvying up the tasks. We all decided to do the first one together however, which was polishing Brock's rock Pokémon.

I managed to climb up on top of Onix and grabbed a washcloth and some sand to polish the giant Pokémon, just like the instructions in Brock's book had said. Onix purred when I did so and I could tell he liked it.

"Alright then, let's get this task done!" I heard Ash yell and looked down to see he had a hose in his hand. Goodness knows where he got it but it was the last thing I wanted to see at the moment.

"Wait no!" I yelled but it was too late. Ash turned on the hose and sprayed it at Onix who promptly freaked out. He roared as he dodged the spray of water, and I had to cling to the rock jutting out from his head for dear life not to get knocked off.

"Ash stop!" Misty yelled and yanked the hose out of his hands.

"What's wrong, you said to polish and clean Onix and Geodude" Ash said with an innocent look on his face.

"Rock Pokémon don't like water, genius" Misty said and huffed as she turned the water off.

"Oh, I forgot" Ash said and chuckled to himself while Pikachu muttered something and shook his head.

We successfully polished Brock's Pokémon until they shined and began working on the other tasks. Misty was assigned to cooking and Ash and I went gather firewood, any fruit we could find, and water. We returned after a while to see Misty stirring a pot with a smile on her face.

"You guys, cooking is _so_ much fun" she said with a grin.

We both nodded and set the table for lunch. Misty set out her stew and Ash and I gasped. It was purple in color and had a foul odor coming from it.

"Uh, I'm not hungry" Ash said quickly and slipped a bite of an apple while Misty wasn't looking.

"Oh come on, it will be delicious" Misty said with a smile and took a bite of her mystery stew. Her face soon turned sour and I laughed.

She quickly dumped it out and handed me the pot to cook. I sighed and tried to remember what Brock had taught me. I started making chicken noodle soup because I figured it not only would be nutritious, but good for Brock since he was sick. In a half an hour, with the help of Misty and Ash I had successfully made a batch of soup and took it in to Brock.

He was asleep with a smile on his face and I grinned at how peaceful he looked. I gently shook him awake and he grunted.

"I brought lunch" I said, sitting back down on the stool by his bed.

He sat up a little and smiled.

"I was having a dream about you"

I chuckled, "I hope it was good"

He nodded, "It was" and then took the bowl from me.

He was about to take a bite when he suddenly got a devilish grin and handed it back to me, slouching, trying to look weak.

"I can't do it myself" he said in a whimper.

One of my eyebrows shot up, "You can't feed yourself?"

He shook his head, "too….. weak" he said and a smile broke onto his face.

I rolled my eyes and gave him back the bowl, knowing he was perfectly capable of doing it himself.

He took a bite and his eyebrows shot up, "Did you make this?"

I flinched, "Yeah" I answered, dreading that it tasted bad.

I looked down at the ground, averting my gaze but soon saw Brock jolting forward to press his lips against mine. I violently pushed back and he looked hurt.

"Keep your germs to yourself, sicky" I said and wiped my mouth but smiled.

He chuckled and took another bite.

"I think this is some of the best soup I have ever had" he said after a few minutes and I beamed.

"Good!" I exclaimed and took a bite of my own.

"Thank you for making this for me" he said quietly.

I smiled, "Anytime"

He looked up at me and stared into my eyes with an intensity I hadn't seen before. After a few moments he broke the silence.

"I love you White" he said in the most sincere voice I had ever heard.

I widened my eyes, shocked but smiled after a moment of thought.

"I love you too Brock" I said. I really did mean it. Brock and my relationship was vastly different from the one I had with N, but I loved them both. I honestly didn't know how to compare them, and I didn't think I could.

"Would you stay in here with me for the rest of the day?" Brock questioned and I nodded.

I poked my head out of the cabin.

"You guys are on your own for the rest of the day; I'm staying in here to take care of Brock"

Misty and Ash nodded before I closed the door. Brock patted the bed next to him and I had just started to walk over when I heard the familiar sound of my X-transceiver. I gave Brock an apologetic look before I walked outside and sat behind the cabin to take the call.

"Hello" I answered and N's face popped onto the screen.

"Hi White" he said with a huge smile.

"So what's up?" I asked, wondering why it had been so long since his last call.

"Lots of things, all of which I can't tell you" he said with a smirk but soon continued. "I'm sorry I haven't called for…. five days" he said with a frown, "I've wanted to but I just haven't had the time."

I nodded, letting him know I understood; I was still curious about what had been going on though.

N's eyes suddenly widened and he frowned.

"What happened to your arm?" he asked in a worried tone. I looked down and realized I still had my arm bandaged up. It was still awfully deep and I would have to keep something over it for a while.

"I just got a cut" I said.

He grunted, "I think it is a little more than a cut to be wrapped like that"

"Don't-" I started but N cut me off.

"Are you sure I don't have to come to Johto to make sure you're alright?"

I smiled, "N, I'm fine; you'll see me when I come back."

He frowned, "It kills me having you so far away you know" he said in a quiet voice.

I gave him a sad look.

"And just like with Talace your safety is my number one priority, and I can't protect you when you are off in another region" he said, fiddling with a pencil.

"N" I said in a soothing voice, "I'm fine, I promise, and just like you said Talace is here to protect me, you really don't need to worry"

He nodded but still looked a little uncomfortable.

"So when _are_ you coming back?" he asked.

"Um, I figured I would come back after Ash's next gym battle."

N nodded and sighed.

"I have to go, love" he said in a sad tone.

"Alright N"

"I love you White" he said in an intense voice that made me feel funny inside.

"I love you too N" I cooed and we both hung up.

I walked back in to see Brock nervously drumming his fingers on the bed next to him, a worried look on his face. When I came in he smiled though and again patted the bed. I smiled and pulled something out of my bag before walking over to give it to him.

"Here" I said, "I think I missed _your_ birthday too" I said with a smile and handed him a white box.

He gave me a hesitant look but opened the box. He pulled out an X-transceiver and grinned.

"For me?" he questioned.

"No, for Onix" I said in a sarcastic tone before I laughed, "of course it's for you"

He chuckled and smiled back, "Thank you, I guess you picked up on my irritation at only being able to call you at gyms"

"Just a little" I said with a smile, "I hope you don't mind but I got Misty and Ash one too"

He shook his head, "That's fine"

I smiled and climbed into the bed beside him. He pulled the covers up and wrapped his arm around me.

I had decided to take the risk of getting sick if I sat with Brock and snuggled into his chest.

"Are you feeling any better?" I questioned.

"Yeah, especially now that you're here" he said with a smile showing through in his voice.

I smiled also. We talked for a long time, watching the sky slowly turn dark outside. We played some games and had an overall good time. I sighed as my eyes started to droop. Brock kissed the top of my head and tucked in the blanket around me. I frowned; I was supposed to be taking care of _him_ and yet it once again seemed he was once again taking care of _me_. I could hear him start to hum an unidentified song.

I smiled to myself and gently fell asleep, lulled by both Brock's humming, and his presence.


	37. Jealousy

**So chapter 37. I actually wasn't planning on posting a chapter today, but I had some extreme insomnia last night, and so I ended up writing a couple of chapters. Plus it is uber short, so... you know. This is chapter is actually a tad odd, but I think I still like it, haha. Anyway, I hope all of you have a great weekend, and the story shall go back to Unova on Monday.**

**Okay, time for Poke-lover88's shameless self promotion! YAY! lol.**

**Anyway, I actually just started writing another story. If you are reading this one, I really don't know if you will support the shipping in it, because it is an odd one, but who knows. Anyway, if you are bored or interested it would be very much appriciated if you check it out!**

**Anywho, sorry for the super long author's note and, enjoy! :)**

**~Poke-lover88**

* * *

_**Chapter 37: Jealousy**_

Brock was completely better by the next morning and we again set off to Olivine City.

We arrived the next morning and Ash once again dragged us straight to the gym without stopping for anything else. He pushed open the large steel doors of the gym and announced he was here for a battle.

"Very well, come on in" we heard a feminine voice say.

The lights in the gym soon switched on and we saw a young woman standing in the middle of the battle field. We walked in and the doors shut behind us.

"Welcome to the Olivine City gym, my name is Jasmine and I am the gym leader here" she said with a smirk. My eyes however wandered to the giant creature next to her; a Steelix. I looked up at Brock to see what he thought of seeing the evolved form of his first Pokémon but instead saw that he was staring at Jasmine. I made a face and began to pout.

"Are you here for a battle?" Jasmine asked, looking Ash up and down.

"Yes I am" he said confidently and she nodded. Just then a referee came in and announced the match would soon be underway. We were quickly ushered into the stands and again awaited Ash's match. I peeked over at Brock again and saw his eyes were still glued to the woman. I huffed and crossed my arms, feeling jealousy, an emotion I honestly never had before.

Ash called out Pikachu and Jasmine started off with a Magnemite. The battle raged on. Being both electric types they didn't do much damage.

"Tackle" Ash yelled and realized that normal attacks would do more damage.

Ash took advantage of the fact that Jasmine's Magnemite only knew electric moves and with a quick attack, squeaked out a victory.

"Very well done Ash" Jasmine said, looking surprised, "But I don't think you'll be able to handle my next Pokémon."

Sure enough, she called out her Steelix and Pikachu was knocked out within moments. Ash picked up the small electric Pokémon and set him down in his trainer's box, calling out Cyndaquil.

I resisted the urge to grab Brock's hand and he gave me a confused look as to why I was grabbing onto my arm so tightly.

It was one of the most brutal battles I had ever seen. Jasmine's Steelix was very well trained and even with the type advantage, Cyndaquil was having a hard time.

"Dig" Jasmine once again called, but Ash had a strategy.

"Flamethrower into the hole" he called and smirked.

Jasmine looked shocked and with the overwhelmingly powerful flamethrower, and her mighty Steelix was knocked out.

"Great job Cyndaquil!" Ash called.

"Cynda-cyn" Cyndaquil chirped, then collapsing also.

He returned the Pokémon and received his badge eagerly.

"Alright, I got the Mineral Badge!" Ash said and again presented it to an invisible camera. I shook my head and we all stood up to congratulate the elated Ash.

"Great job Ash, I wish you luck. And I would love it if you four would join me for dinner to celebrate Ash's victory." Jasmine said with a smile. Her eyes flicked over to Brock and I realized he was _still_ staring at her. I fumed and finally after a few seconds of their staring competition I slammed my fist onto Brock's chest to then pull him down to my level and give him an exaggerated kiss. Brock was surprised but quickly decided to enjoy the gesture. My eyes flicked over to Jasmine to make sure she was watching and smiled when I saw the confused look on her face. 'That's right' I thought to myself, 'he's taken'. I blushed a bit at my odd actions, but I guess jealousy could do a lot to a person.

"Alright then" Jasmine said with an odd expression and turned to escort us to the kitchen. As soon as she turned I pulled back from Brock and he grunted in disapproval.

We ate dinner with Jasmine. She actually was a very nice lady but my eyes kept flicking over to Brock, who now seemed to have lost his infatuation with her.

* * *

That night I found myself sitting on the bunk bed, again reading my Pokémon book. Ash was asleep on the couch and Brock was making sandwiches for the next day. Misty walked in and I averted my glance from the book.

"So" Misty said with a grin, "what was that kiss for?"

"What are you talking about?" I grumbled, embarrassed by how I had acted.

"Oh come on, you were jealous" she said with a smile in her voice and sat down on the bed across from me, pulling her legs in to sit criss cross.

I blushed, "Yeah I guess I was"

She giggled, "Don't be bothered by how Brock acts around other girls"

I looked up, "What do you mean?"

"Well, you know" she said, rocking backwards, "It's in his nature to be a ladies man" she put her hand to one side of her mouth, "and between you and me I think he gets it from his dad, but anyway, it's just how he is."

I nodded, realizing Misty was probably right.

"But the way he acts around you is different."

I looked up at her and she looked off to the side.

"He _really_ loves you, and I can tell that by the fact that he is only staring at other girls, not being all-" she waved her hand around, trying to find the right word, "charming, I guess. He hasn't ever done that with anyone before"

I chuckled to myself but really took her words to heart. No matter how much Brock loved me he was always going to have the gene he had for wooing women; and I just had to deal with it, even if I _was_ jealous.

My X-transceiver rang just as our conversation was over and I picked it up. I frowned when I saw Bianca's name but answered.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Jeez, does the world have to be ending for me to give you a call?" Bianca asked, "A simple hello would suffice" she said with a smile.

I chuckled, "Alright, hello Bianca, what's wrong?"

She sighed but started to answer my question, "When are you coming back?"

"Um, I don't know, sometime this week I guess" I answered, "why?"

"Well, I don't really know what's going on but Team Plasma has all of a sudden started being more aggressive with their approach for taking Pokémon"

My eyes widened and she continued, "They used to just steal them if you _lost_, now they are taking them out of people's pockets and bags"

I frowned, "What do you think I can do about it?"

"Well" she said hesitantly, "I mean if you talked to N I'm sure he would listen to _you_ because they don't seem to be listening to anyone else."

I sighed to myself, "Alright, I'll see what I can do"

"Good!" she said in a chipper tone, "Oh and Cheren also said to tell you that he is eager for your return" she said and made a face, "something about a battle"

I nodded, "Yeah we have one scheduled"

She nodded, "Alright White, I have to go. Bye bye!"

"Bye Bianca" I said with a smile and hung up.

Misty listened intently to the whole conversation.

"So are you going to talk to N?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah, I'll talk to him, though I think it might be better to do in person, maybe I'll head on back tomorrow"

Misty smiled, "You two make such a cute couple"

I smiled also, "You're routing for N not Brock aren't you" I said in an amused tone.

"Yes" she said with a smile, "No offense to Brock, but N is hot" she sang the last word and I rolled my eyes.

Almost like clockwork my X-transceiver rang again and I picked it up when I saw N's name.

"Hi N" I said with a smile and Misty leaned forward farther, looking like she was watching her favorite soap opera.

"Hello love" he cooed and Misty clutched her heart mouthing 'so romantic'.

I rolled my eyes and N gave me an odd look.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yes, Misty is just being weird" I said with a smile.

"Hey!" she whined.

I chuckled and I saw N now had a smile on his face.

"So how is everything in Johto?" N asked.

"Good, Ash won his sixth badge today"

"Cool, he sounds like quite the trainer"

"Psshhtt" Misty scoffed, "yeah, quite the trainer alright" she said and rolled her eyes.

I chuckled again and turned back to N, "But I am actually coming back to Unova tomorrow"

"You are?" he practically yelled and shot towards the camera with a wide smile.

I jumped but nodded.

"Good" he said and leaned back in his chair again, looking proud, "what time will you be here"

"I'm shooting for around noon" I said and he nodded.

"I'll be waiting"

I nodded and said a quick goodbye.

Misty rambled for a few minutes about how amazing N was before I accused her of having a crush as well. She vehemently denied and I chuckled as I stood up to go into the kitchen.

I quietly helped Brock make some of the sandwiches before I decided to tell him that I was leaving tomorrow.

Ash and Misty had already gone to bed because it was so late and I yawned.

"Listen Brock, I am actually going back to Unova tomorrow morning" I said quietly.

"What?" he said in a sad voice.

"I'm sorry, but some things have come up, and whatnot. You can call me on the X-transceiver though" I said with a smile.

He frowned but nodded and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"I knew you would be going back soon, I just hoped it wouldn't be _so_ soon."

I had been in Johto for just a little over two weeks and that was usually my time limit in either region. Two weeks in Unova, and then two weeks with Brock, Misty, and Ash.

I nodded and wrapped my arms around his neck.

He gently leaned in and pressed his lips against mine. I kissed him back for a few seconds before I pulled him into a hug. He sighed and kissed my cheek before he pulled back and finished making the sandwiches.

Afterwards we both climbed into bed and I again laid my head on his chest.

"Thanks again for the necklace, I love it" I said with a smile, looking down at Talace's ball.

"You're welcome sweetheart" he said with a smile in his voice.

"I love you White" he said after a few moments of silence.

I grinned, "I love you too Brock"

He sighed in contentment and I soon drifted off to sleep, his heartbeat keeping time.


	38. Touchy Subject

**So Chapter 38 it is. What is up with me and these shorter chapters lately? Haha, anyway. There should be another on Wednesday, and then a break for Thanksgiving and whatnot.**

**Anyway, I hope you all enjoy! :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 38: Touchy Subject**_

The next morning I was once again flying on Sigilyph. Earlier Brock and I had had a reluctant goodbye and he made sure on several occasions to call me and make sure the X-transceiver was working. Unova was rather cutting edge with technology like that and I knew Misty, Ash, and Brock were fascinated with it. I registered all of their numbers and had taken off on time. I arrived just a few minutes after noon and landed on the platform to the gate. I looked around and frowned when I didn't see N.

The man checked my pass and then sighed, "Is someone named N supposed to pick you up?" he questioned.

"Yeah" I said hesitantly, giving him an odd look.

"Alright, you can open it" the man called into the control booth where apparently another man was. The official gate to Unova, which was about eight feet tall, slowly began to creak open. I had wondered why the gate was closed. It was usually left open, but security was constantly on surveillance for any trespassers.

I soon saw a green flash and N skidded around the corner, pushing his way through the gate which had only made it about a foot open so far.

"White!" he exclaimed excitedly.

"Hi N" I said and smiled.

I braced myself when I realized he wasn't going to slow down to hug me; but to my surprise he skidded to a halt right in front of me, without a hug. He dropped to his knees and looked closely at my arm. I rolled my eyes but let him examine it. He then almost had a heart attack when he saw the black boot and finally after going on and on about safety, gave me a bone crushing hug.

"I'm never letting you go back" he said in a stern voice.

I chuckled, "Yes you are" I said and patted his back. He pulled back and grabbed my hand, placing a kiss on my palm before intertwining his fingers with mine. I turned to the man who had checked my pass, who was still standing there, looking annoyed.

"Why was the gate closed?" I asked and he let out one loud laugh.

"This one here" he said pointing to N, "is quite the nuisance and we don't like having people hanging around the gate for _hours_ on end" he said with an accusatory glance towards N.

N frowned, "I was just waiting"

"Since eight in the morning" the man said, shaking his head.

"I told you I wasn't going to be here till noon" I said.

N blushed, "I know, I just got a little overly excited I guess" he said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

I chuckled and much to the man's approval, we left the gate area.

N once again escorted me to the subway station and asked me where I wanted to go.

"Well, I was hoping I would get to go through Twist Mountain today" I said, looking up at the electronic board with all of the times for the different stops.

"Then Mistralton City it is, and we just have to cross Route 7" N said and bought us tickets.

We only had to wait about five minutes before the shuttle arrived and we boarded. Once again there wasn't a single other person in our car.

"Man, this is just creepy" I said, scooting closer to N.

He chuckled and put his arm around me.

I remembered what Bianca had said yesterday about Team Plasma and figured this might be a good time to bring it up, since we were alone. I sighed, and climbed into N's lap, sitting criss cross on his legs.

He looked at me skeptically and I tried to start our conversation with a lighthearted tone.

"So I heard Team Plasma is really getting down to business" I said with a smile.

He stretched his arms out on either side and put them on the back of the seat.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well" I started, not sure how to bring it up without making him mad. I averted my gaze down to his necklace and began to fiddle with it.

"I just heard that the grunts were pick pocketing pokeballs, not taking Pokémon from trainers only when they lost"

N was silent for a moment and I hazarded a glance at his face. He was looking past me and had about ten different emotions flashing across his face.

"They shouldn't be doing that" he growled lowly, "that's no way to promote liberation"

His eyes then flicked back to me.

"I will take care of it, I promise" he said, sounding apologetic and brushed his finger across my cheek. N really didn't want to start doing anything drastic before he defeated the other hero. He also knew this was a sensitive topic and didn't want to anger me any more than I wanted to anger him.

"Okay" I said with a smile.

He grinned back but his eyes flicked down a bit and he frowned.

"What's this?" he asked, lifting up my necklace.

"Oh, just a belated birthday gift"

"From who?" he questioned, still examining the piece of jewelry.

"Brock" I answered.

"Oh, your Kanto friend, that was nice" he said, letting go of the necklace.

I once again was reminded of the fact N didn't know about Brock. I sighed. I had no idea how to bring it up with N. I felt bad knowing that he didn't know though, and it was slowly eating away at me.

The shuttle then let out a loud screech and a voice over the intercom said it was the Mistralton City stop, so we got off. We made it to Twist Mountain within a half an hour and I stepped inside. I had talked to Cheren and he said he was in Twist Mountain also, and said he would wait where he was for our battle.

The instant N and I stepped inside the cave I could feel the temperature drop. The walls of the cavern were glistening with ice and there were patches of snow here and there.

N and I walked for a good hour before we even made it to the center of the maze-like tunnels.

"Oh wow" I said quietly to myself. Twist Mountain definitely lived up to its name. The cave was nothing short of a maze and I thought I was going to go insane if we couldn't find out way out. N had seemed calm throughout the whole process however and had just smiled, happy to walk with me and hold my hand. But now when I exited the cave I was standing on a rickety wooden platform that was connected to many other identical wooden platforms that lead into other parts of the cave; but I was surprisingly outside in the fresh air. I soon realized this was the middle of Twist Mountain and smiled.

"It's pretty amazing" N said with a smile and I nodded. Just then I heard someone call my name.

"White!"

I turned my head to the left to see Cheren sticking his head out of the mouth to one cave.

"Come on over" he yelled and N and I obliged. I tiptoed across the creaky boards, all the while praying I didn't go crashing through. Finally however we made it to the cave entrance and I stepped inside, thanking Arceus I had made it safely.

"Hi White" Cheren said with a smile before his eyes flicked over to N and he frowned, "and hello N" he said in an irritated voice.

I shot him a glance that said 'be nice' and he sighed.

"So are you ready for that battle?" he asked, a smile tugging on his lips.

"How about we wait till tomorrow morning" I said, looking out at the setting sun, "we probably won't even be able to see what we are doing in about ten minutes"

Cheren's shoulders slumped but he nodded.

"Oh, by the way, sorry I never gave your tent back" he said with a grin and motioned over to the tent that was sitting up against the cave wall.

I chuckled, "Yeah, it's fine"

We quickly built a small fire and ate some sandwiches. N quietly listened to the conversation Cheren and I had about absolutely everything we had missed in each other's lives. Cheren refused to even acknowledge N most of the time, but when he did it was to shoot a glare at the green haired man for putting a hand on my knee or back.

We finished dinner and I helped Cheren stomp out the fire.

I shivered, "Man it's cold in these caves" I muttered.

"Yeah, the altitude is pretty high in Twist Mountain" N said, rubbing my shoulders.

"So I guess we're all sleeping in the tent then?" Cheren questioned, looking a little amused.

"I guess so" I said and climbed in when Cheren motioned me to. He turned on a flashlight and climbed in after me. N followed and we zipped it up. It was a surprisingly large tent, but we were all still a little crammed.

"Okay, if we all lay going the same direction we should fit" I said, and slipped off my boots, my vest, and my cap.

"Yeah" Cheren said, positioning himself to be parallel to me. N did the same and they both took off their shoes. N took off his cap and Cheren took off his jacket. I unfolded a blanket and they did the same. It was incredibly awkward having Cheren and N in the same tent as me, and we were all getting ready for bed so we were stripping off a few layers, which just made it _that_ much more awkward.

We finally had all of the blankets situated, which totaled ten in all and I flopped down, pulling the band out of my hair and shaking it out before snuggling down under a surprisingly comfortable blanket. I felt N and Cheren both lay down also and I closed my eyes. At the same time both Cheren and N's hands grabbed my waist to pull me closer to them.

"oof" I let out as the opposing forces just ended up squishing me, and I stayed in place.

Both of the boys paused, seemingly confused as to why I hadn't moved and again tried to pull me towards them at the same time.

"oof, good lord you guys" I said as I once again got the air knocked out of me.

"What's wrong?" N asked.

"You two keep pulling at the same time and so I just get squished but stay in the same spot" I said, an amused tone squeezing its way into my voice.

"Okay, then you roll over" N said, lifting his arm, waiting for me to roll into his chest.

"Hey, why do you think she would go to you?" Cheren asked, sounding offended.

N paused, confused by Cheren's question. "Because that's how we normally sleep"

Cheren huffed, "Well, White is my _best_ friend, and I'm sure we have had more sleepovers than you could imagine" Cheren said, trying to brag. I rolled my eyes. I always had a feeling Cheren had a crush on me, but I figured it would wear off over time.

I could see N was frowning, even in the dark.

"Well that may be true, but that doesn't give a valid reason for her to sleep like that _now"_

"Yeah it does, we are extremely close, so she should feel more comfortable with _me_ keeping her warm" Cheren said.

N growled, "If anyone is keeping her warm and comfortable, it will be _me_"

My eyebrows shot up, I didn't know N had a jealous side, but apparently he did.

Both N and Cheren's hands once again grabbed my waist and pulled. I was again squished and I rolled my eyes.

"Good god you guys" I said with a laugh and flopped over onto my stomach, still staying in the middle, letting them know I wasn't going to choose.

They both grunted in disapproval but didn't force me to move. They continued a heated argument about me, and who was more fit to keep me warm for a good five minutes before I decided to tune them out. They soon quieted though and fumed silently to themselves. N shot Cheren a look before he smiled. I could barely see their faces but could make out some expressions.

"Goodnight _love_" N said with a grin to Cheren and pulled my chin up so I could kiss him. I eagerly pressed my lips to his and pulled back after a few seconds.

"Goodnight N" I said with a smile and plopped back down.

I heard Cheren let out an irritated sigh.

"Goodnight White" he said and pulled my chin up the same way N had. My eyes widened and I looked at him for a few seconds with utter confusion. I internally shrugged and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Goodnight Cher" and I again flopped back down to go to bed.

"And _that's_ the difference you thought wasn't there" N said with a smirk. I realized that the kisses had been a settlement to the argument they were having; the part I had tuned out of, and rolled my eyes before falling asleep, now with both N and Cheren's hands just resting on my back.


	39. Icirrus City

**Hello there, and here is Chapter 39. I am really running out of ways to introduce chapters... can you tell? lol. I actually really like this chapter. Anyway, there won't be another one this week because of various things. Thursday is Thanksgiving for all of us here in the US, and I wish you a happy turkey day if you celebrate it as well! And Friday is Black Friday, so most likely you will find me in a Toys-R-Us, on a mission to find a stuffed Tepig. Aaaaand that's what's going on in my life lol.**

**_Oh real quick note! _I am actually really interested to see who you all are routing for White to end up with. Just from the people I have talked with I believe I have 2 for Brock and 3 for N. So go ahead and shoot me a PM letting me know who you want White to be with; or if you are a guest you can go ahead and leave a review with your answer if you would like. I actually haven't made up _my_ mind yet for who she ends up with; and so maybe I will go with whichever one more people are routing for. Anywho, just curious. :)**

**Sorry for the SUPER long Author's note. I hope you all have a great holiday and enjoy! :)**

**~Poke-lover88**

* * *

_**Chapter 39: Icirrus City**_

At some point throughout the night of sleeping with N and Cheren I must've rolled over out of habit into N's chest because I was awakened when N slowly started to get up.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

N froze and I could tell he had been trying not to wake me up.

"Um, nothing, I just got a call and I have to leave"

I took in a sharp breath when the cold air hit my face as N moved.

"No" I pouted and pulled him back down.

He chuckled and kissed the top of my head, before trying to get up again.

"But it's cold N" I mock-whined.

He smiled but continued to get up, putting his blanket over me. Now I was legitimately cold and I shivered.

"She can sleep with me" I heard Cheren's groggy voice say and I realized we must've woken him up.

I shrugged, and rolled over and into Cheren. He wrapped his arms around me and let out a content sigh.

Just as I was about to fall back asleep I heard a low growl. I quickly tried to identify what Pokémon it was but it turned out to be N, who was obviously not happy with the situation.

"Let go of her" he hissed and I could feel Cheren smile, happy that he had irritated N.

"You don't want her to _freeze_ do you?" Cheren asked and I almost started laughing.

"She will be fine, just stop _touching_ her" N spat. My eyes widened some, I was now seriously dreading telling N about Brock, if he was getting worked up just over Cheren.

"I'm good" Cheren said, and adjusted his hands on my back.

I heard N's constant growl grow a little louder and felt him start to move towards us.

"N, it's fine, I'm comfortable" I said, my eyes starting to droop.

"But-" N started, his voice stained with hurt.

I looked over my shoulder at him and smiled, "You go take care of whatever you need to do, and I'll see you later, okay sweetie?" I asked, making sure to throw a pet name in there.

N sighed, "Alright darling"

I heard a faint zip of the tent and soon fell back asleep.

* * *

I awoke a few hours later and crawled out of the tent to see Cheren stirring something in a large pot.

"That smells good" I commented, rubbing my eyes.

Cheren smiled, "Yup, if we are going to have a battle, we might as well do it on a full stomach"

I nodded and eagerly ate Cheren's famous chili. He had somehow developed the recipe after watching about fourteen different cooking shows when he was seven. He had vowed to create the perfect chili using only math, and somehow he had succeeded.

After finishing our meal we cleaned up and soon found ourselves standing in front of each other, ready to battle.

Cheren had gotten a lot stronger since the last time I had battled him. He had an Unfezant, a Simisear, a Liepard, and of course his Dewott.

It was a long battle but somehow I still won with only Excadrill and Talace.

Cheren huffed as he called back his Pokémon.

"Ho!" a loud voice boomed and it echoed in the cave.

"That was quite a battle; you two must've been raised as trainers"

Soon Alder came into view and had a large smile plastered on his face as he looked back and forth at both of us.

"I got whacked because I'm weak" Cheren muttered and then glared at Alder, "It really bothers me you'd say it was a good match regardless"

"Oh, you" Alder said and rolled his eyes, "Cut down on the harsh words kiddo, I'd really appreciate it." He chuckled, "So I know I already asked you this, but what are you gonna do once you get stronger?"

Cheren looked confused by his question.

"Uh, once I become the Champion that'll be the reason for living, it will be proof of my existence"

Even _I _frowned at that answer; Cheren was too hardcore.

"Huh, you remind me of Marshal" Alder said, scratching his chin, "Alright, I suppose it's valuable to have something to aspire to. But it is important to have another value too, so you can put that power to use, don't you think?"

Both Cheren and I stayed quiet, mulling over his words.

"Anyhow, I'll be on my way. I wish you two good luck" he said with a wink and disappeared.

"Oh, and don't forget to consider what the Pokémon traveling with you want" I heard his booming voice call behind him.

"Huh" I said quietly to myself, Alder was an odd man but he had some real wisdom.

"What do I want to do?" Cheren muttered to himself, looking torn, "If I don't know that, then as a trainer, I have to prove myself to everyone by getting stronger" he said nodding to himself.

"Cheren, stop being so hard on yourself, just have some fun once in a while" I said with a smile. Cheren ever since he was born was a serious person. He was always glued to books and was more focused on having knowledge, than fun. And now he wanted to prove that all he had done would pay off in the end, making him the strongest trainer in Unova.

He shook his head but smiled, "I'll beat you next time White"

I rolled my eyes, "Whatever you say"

He chuckled and packed up the tent.

Cheren decided to stay in Twist Mountain for another day while I wanted to move on so we parted ways with a hug and a wave.

I walked for a while through Twist Mountain; at times thinking I might go insane. It was one gigantic maze, and I kept finding myself back where I had started.

I huffed impatiently and turned a corner just in time to run into someone.

"Oof" we both said and stumbled back a few feet. I straightened my hat that had fallen over my eyes and realized I had run into Clay. He was straightening his hat as well but smiled when he saw me.

"Well, I wasn't expecting to see the likes of you here in Twist Mountain" Clay said, holding out his hand and I shook it.

"Mighty coincidence that is" he said, and smiled, "You look like you've toughened up"

I nodded and suddenly he frowned.

"Oh, by the way…. you seen Team Plasma lately?"

My eyes widened and I wasn't sure how to answer, but thankfully Clay continued.

"I've heard from other gym leaders they're meetin up" he said, looking around like he expected to see them at any moment.

"Who knows where they're hidin out" he said, putting his hands in his pockets and frowned.

"This is the only attitude I have about it…. well, this has nothin to do with you anyhow. Kids should have fun travelin with their Pokémon" Clay said, a smile returning to his face.

"Anyway, I'll catch you later White. I'm still expecting big things from ya" he said with a wink and turned down the path I had come from.

'Jeez, no pressure' I thought to myself as I headed on. I had been asked about Team Plasma a few times since I found out about N and I still never knew how to react. I didn't want to throw N under the bus, but I still wanted to help destroy the organization. I shook my head; I had gotten myself into one odd situation.

I walked for a good hour before I saw a light. I grinned and started walking faster, knowing I had finally reached the end but stopped when I heard voices in the distance, arguing. I peeked around a corner and saw Cheren having a heated debate with a Plasma Grunt. Cheren lifted up his hand and so did the grunt; I was suddenly afraid that very soon a fight was going to break out so I bolted over to them.

"Hey, what's going on here?"

The grunt froze; his mouth open and blinked a few times.

"This idiot here was trying to steal my Pokémon" Cheren explained, "But I beat him" he said, looking smug.

I turned to the grunt, waiting for his retort but one didn't come. He was still standing, looking dumbfounded in front of me.

"What's up with him?" I asked, turning to Cheren.

He shrugged, "Who knows"

The grunt then promptly bolted, practically a blur as he disappeared.

"Man that was weird" I muttered and Cheren nodded in agreement.

"Well, I should be going" Cheren said with a light salute and disappeared as well.

I shrugged to myself and walked back to the path I was on, soon exiting and entering Icirrus City. My eyes widened. It was snowing! I grinned; I had always loved the snow, but Nuvema hardly ever had any snowstorms, however Icirrus City was known for how cold it was, and apparently I had arrived at just the right time.

"White!" I heard a familiar voice call. I turned to my left to see N jogging over to me.

"Hi!" I said, a huge smile still on my face, simply because of the snow.

"Why are you so happy?" N asked with an amused look.

"ITS SNOWING N!" I exclaimed.

He chuckled, "Yes it is darling"

I held out my hand and caught some snowflakes before bending down and scooping up a pile of snow to mold it into a ball. A mischievous grin spread across my face before I flung it at N and it hit him in the chest.

"HEY!" he yelled, sounding offended, "What are you doing?" he asked, brushing the snow off of himself.

"I am starting a snowball fight with you N" I said with a smile, bending down and picking up another hunk of snow.

"A what?" he questioned, tilting his head to the side.

I scrunched my eyebrows together, "Have you never had one?" I asked.

"No, what does a snowball fight entail?" he asked, curiously watching me sculpt another ball.

I chucked it at him and it hit his shoulder.

"You throw snow at people, it's pretty simple" I said with a grin.

"Interesting" N said, now picking up a handful of snow as well, "So you just squish it together like this?" he asked, making a lopsided ball.

I nodded and he grinned, throwing it at me. It hit my bare leg and I shivered.

"Holy frack that's cold" I said, but picked up some more snow.

N and I continued to throw snow at one another for the next half an hour. People looked at us like we were nuts as we stood in the middle of town, laughing and chucking snowballs at each other.

"Okay N, I think that's enough" I finally said, brushing some snow out of my now soaking hair.

"That was fun!" he exclaimed, his face lighting up.

"I'm glad" I said with a chuckle, now observing my surroundings. "I really like Icirrus City so far" I said with a smile.

"Yup, it's a pretty cool place" N said and grinned. "Come on, let's walk" he said, grabbing ahold of my hand.

I obliged and followed him as he walked to the far East side of the town. He led me down some steps and what I saw was amazing. There were small lakes all around which were now covered with ice, sparkling in the sun. The snow was untouched and perfectly flat, it all looked surreal.

"It's beautiful N" I said with a smile.

He nodded.

I shivered and he frowned, "Are you cold?"

"A little" I answered, realizing that all of the snow on me had melted and my clothes were soaking wet.

"Here" N said, grabbing his shirt and beginning to take it off.

"N WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" I asked, picturing Officer Jenny arresting N for public indecency. I mentally facepalmed, picturing how awkward it would be.

"What?" N asked, his shirt now off. I realized he had only taken off the white one and his black turtleneck was still on. I sighed in relief and he handed me his shirt which was perfectly dry.

"How did you avoid getting soaked?" I asked, finding the arm holes.

N laughed, "I think I am a tad faster than you, White"

I stuck my tongue out at him but I knew he was right. He had dodged almost every single one I threw once I had explained what a snowball fight was, and I had gotten hit with his every single time.

I pulled the shirt over my head and smiled, flapping my arms around as the sleeves were way too long.

N chuckled, "You look cute"

I rolled my eyes but smiled. I blushed when I looked at him however; his white shirt was lose but he black one wasn't, and showed that he did in fact have some impressive muscles for his age. I quickly averted my gaze and yawned, looking at the sky. I frowned when I saw it was already turning dark.

'Man, how long was I in that cave?' I questioned to myself

N escorted me back to the Icirrus Pokémon center and I rented another large room. Once inside I took a searing hot shower, finally warming up and walked back into the main room, relishing in the feeling of dry clothes.

I called out my Pokémon and N quickly took a look at Litwick and Excadrill, talking with them for a moment before relaxing on the couch. Talace once again huffed and made his way into the other room, not wanting to be around N. I sighed, wondering if they would ever get along.

"Oh White, I actually have something to show you" N said with a smile.

I nodded, letting him know I was interested. He pulled out a pokeball and let out a large creature.

I widened my eyes, "Zorua?"

The Zoroark smiled and growled, letting me know he was the one and only.

"Oh wow he evolved!" I exclaimed walking over to Zoroark.

"He sure did" N said, looking proud.

I petted Zoroark's head and he purred, still sounding the same as when he had been a Zorua.

"That's wonderful" I said, giggling as he once again licked my face.

N smiled, "Alright, are you ready to go to bed?"

I nodded, and walked into the bedroom. N whispered a few things to Zoroark before he followed. We both climbed in and I sighed, realizing how much I had missed sleeping with my head on N's chest. He lifted up my hand and smiled.

"I'm glad you are still wearing this" he said, gently twisting the ring on my finger.

I peered up at him, "Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

He shrugged, "I had my doubts on whether or not you would like it"

I chuckled, "It is one of, if not _the_ best present I have ever gotten, N. I don't think I will ever take it off" I said, now inspecting the ring myself, the fire still burning brightly inside of it.

He smiled, "I'm glad you're back"

"I am too" I said and lightly kissed him on the cheek. He frowned.

"What's wrong?" I asked, surprised at his reaction.

"Nothing, it's just…." he trailed off and I smiled, knowing what he wanted. I lifted myself up to press my lips to his and I could feel them smile under mine.

I pulled back, "Much better" he said, and leaned over to turn off the light.

I chuckled and settled back down on his chest.

"Goodnight love" he said, gently running his fingers through my hair.

"Goodnight N" I said, nuzzling closer to him.


	40. Icy Battle to Mysterious Tower

**Wow, I can't believe I have made it to chapter 40! And I can't believe you guys have patiently stuck with me for this long! lol. Odd name for this chapter, I know, haha. Anyway, a ton happens in this chapter. I am still not too awfully comfortable with writing about battles, but I am trying my best to get better at it, haha. **

**Anyway, I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving, and yes, I finally got my stuffed Tepig on Black Friday! HECK YEAH! lol**

**Anyway, I hope you all enjoy! :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 40: Icy Battle to Mysterious Tower**_

I woke up the next morning with a jolt. I blinked the sleep from my eyes quickly as I finally identified the noise that had woken me up as my X-transceiver. I picked it up and seeing Brock's name, smiled.

"Hello" I answered, a small yawn escaping from my lips.

"Hi White" he said with a wide grin.

"I guess you figured out how to call someone then" I said with a chuckle.

He rolled his eyes, "I'm not a caveman you know, I know how to use technology"

I giggled, "If you say so"

"So where's the almighty N?" Brock questioned with an amused look.

I looked down beside me and for the first time realized N wasn't still in bed.

"Um, I don't know" I said, looking around. I finally saw a note on the nightstand and realized he must've been called for another meeting; he sure was having a lot of those lately.

"Well, I was going to call yesterday but we were rather busy with-" he was cut off as Ash shoved him out of the way and grabbed the X-transceiver.

"My gym battle; we were busy with my gym battle" he said with a large smile.

My eyes widened, "You already made it to the next gym?" I asked as my voice flew up an octave.

"You bet, actually-" he was cut off as well, as Brock shoved him out of the way and grabbed his X-transceiver back.

"Yeah we made it to the gym yesterday, and it turns out the next gym is literally about two miles from here."

"_So I should be ready to enter the Johto League in a few days!" _ I heard Ash yell from off the screen.

"He does know you can have conference calls on these things right?" I asked, motioning to my X-transceiver.

Brock shook his head, "Who knows"

I chuckled, "Well Brock, I really should be going if I am planning on having a gym battle of _my own _today" I said, again yawning.

He nodded, "Good luck sweetheart"

"Thanks" I said with a wink and hung up.

I rolled over and picked up N's note.

_My dear White,_

_As you probably have figured I was called away again. I couldn't bring myself to wake you up because of how peaceful you looked so I decided to leave another note. I know you wanted to have a gym battle today so I wish you the best of luck. I'll see you soon._

_I love you._

_~N_

I smiled, not knowing a note could make me feel this warm and fuzzy inside before hopping out of bed. I swiftly got ready, packing everything up and had a quick chat with my Pokémon. All of my Pokémon were dying to have a chance at battling with a gym leader. They all began arguing but the fight was broken up by Talace, who with a few loud and powerful snorts, asserted himself as the designated gym battler.

I rolled my eyes but again agreed, calling them all back to their balls.

I whistled as I walked to the entrance of the Pokémon center and was again elated to see snow on the ground. I bent down and dragged a finger through it, creating a line and smiled.

"Why hello there White!" I heard a vaguely familiar voice call. I looked up and finally identified the person to be Mr. Juniper.

"Hi professor" I said with a smile.

"So how are you and your Pokémon doing?" he asked.

"We are all doing great!"

"Good, and I see you have six badges, that is quite impressive" he said with a nod, "Oh by the way, have you heard about a place called Dragonspiral Tower?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

I shook my head and he continued.

"Oh, well then how about you listen to what this old coot has to say" he said with a chuckle and I nodded.

"Dragonspiral Tower is said to be the oldest structure in Unova. Most importantly it's also the place where the legendary Pokémon was born. And lastly, where it slumbers now!"

My eyes widened and Mr. Juniper seemed happy he had gotten my attention.

"It is just past Icirrus City here" he said, motioning behind him, "I don't know much about it beyond that though" he said looking a bit downtrodden, "At any rate, someone's gone inside the tower" he said and his face twisted into a look of deep thought.

I cocked my head to the side, wondering why he was telling me all this.

"Anyway, old coot here is going to go sightseeing at Dragonspiral Tower. See ya!" he said and before I could say anything he turned on his heel and walked away.

I frowned, again wondering why he had told me all of that. I made a mental note to visit the tower after I had my gym battle. I trudged through the snow for a good ten minutes before I saw the gym. I quickened my pace and took a deep breath before walking inside.

I widened my eyes as before me lay one large sheet of ice.

"Hey there" Clyde said and once again handed me a bottle of water.

"Brycen is the gym leader here and he uses ice types; so as you know fire melts ice and fighting types can smash it"

I nodded and hesitantly looked at the floor in front of me which was completely made of ice.

I heard Clyde chuckle, "All you got to do is slide on that, and you can make it to Brycen" he said, motioning over to a large platform where I guessed the gym leader was.

"O-okay" I stuttered, putting one foot on the slippery surface. The minute my other foot was on it I lost my balance and came crashing down on my tailbone.

"Ow" I mumbled and shot a glare at Clyde as he laughed at my misfortune.

"It's easier if you treat it like you're roller-skating" he said, still looking amused.

I nodded and again stood up, to then try it like Clyde had suggested. It worked much better and soon enough, though not before falling multiple times and looking like I had the legs of a baby Deerling, I had made it over to where Clyde had pointed. I almost wanted to kiss the floor in joy at again being on a surface with traction.

"Your heart seems suitably prepared to challenge a gym leader" I heard a deep voice say and my head snapped up. A man with light blue hair was standing before me, wearing….. goodness knows what it was he was wearing; some sort of robe that was blue in color and made him look like he belonged in an action movie.

"Now come" he said and quickly turned to start walking away at a brisk pace.

I scrambled to my feet and hurried after him. He led me to a large room and motioned to my trainer box. The field was completely made of ice and my mind frantically tried to come up with a strategy.

Without any notice Brycen called out his Pokémon and before me was a Vanillish.

"Oh, alright, come on out Talace" I called and my Emboar was immediately at the ready.

"Astonish" Brycen called and the Vanillish spun around rapidly before I gasped. Its face was completely covered with a dark shadow and a mysterious red haze was around it, drifting towards Talace. I was almost scared speechless and in looking at Talace, realized he felt the same. I gathered my courage.

"Don't be afraid Talace and use flamethrower"

He shuddered but nodded and sent out a blast of flames.

"Dodge and use Mirror Shot" Brycen said in a calm voice and his Pokémon mimicked his command.

It whizzed out of the way and quickly formed a glowing ball in front of it and chucked it towards Talace.

"Dodge and use arm thrust" I called. Talace snorted and quickly started to move to the side, however because of the extremely slippery surface his foot slid and he went crashing to the ground. I gasped and before he could react the Mirror Shot hit him head on, creating a large cloud of smoke.

"Talace are you alright?" I asked and was met with a growl, letting me know he was fine. As the smoke cleared I saw Talace trying desperately to stand up, slipping around and ultimately falling down again.

I looked around frantically.

"Frost Breath" Brycen again said in a calm voice and the Vanillish jingled before huffing out an icy cold wind with chunks of ice flying in it.

"Melt it with flamethrower" I called and Talace turned his head to melt the crystals in mid-air.

'That's it!' I thought.

"Talace, melt the ice you're standing on" I called.

He nodded and sent out a powerful blast of flames that scorched right through the ice, and Talace was now standing on a normal surface.

Brycen smirked and I could tell this wasn't new to him.

"Freeze it with Frost Breath" he called and Vanillish sent out another blast of cold.

"Heat crash" I called and Talace grunted before forming a large flaming ball and hurling it towards the attack. It burned easily through the Frost Breath and slammed into the Vanillish, knocking it out cold.

Brycen nodded and wordlessly called the Pokémon back before again tossing a pokeball in the air.

A Cryogonal appeared.

"Alright Talace, flamethrower"

He sent a blast of flames out of his nose but the Cryogonal easily avoided the attack.

"Rapid spin" Brycen almost whispered and the Cryogonal quickly flew towards Talace, now blurry because of how fast it was spinning.

"Flamethrower" I called and Talace once again sent flames towards the Pokémon.

"You know what to do" Brycen said with a smirk and I watched helplessly as the Cryogonal avoided every searing flame, dodging by using the large pillars of ice on the field; all the while gaining momentum before slamming into Talace, sending him sliding onto the ice.

I growled.

"You're strong, but not strong enough" Brycen said, again smirking.

I clenched my teeth together, offended and angered by his comment.

"Fine then, melt the entire field Talace!" I yelled, throwing my arm out to the side. Talace grinned and I could tell he was excited I was as pumped as he was. The flames scorched the field, blasting through all of the ice; and now a normal battling field stood before me.

Brycen looked shocked.

"Freeze it back over with Frost Breath" he called.

"Arm Thrust and hurry" I called and Talace flew towards the Cryogonal, slamming his fists into it so hard it flew back to smash into the wall, a large crack appearing. It slid down and from just one attack was knocked out.

Brycen called him back and sent out a Beartic.

"You may have succeeded with the past two, but believe me, you won't with this one" Brycen said, and as if to accent his statement, the Beartic roared.

"Slash" Brycen called and the Beartic pushed off of the ground to hurtle towards Talace; his large claws glowing.

"Intercept with Arm thrust" I called and Talace slammed his fist into the Beartic's claws, neither Pokémon gaining any ground.

"Now throw him" I ordered. Talace's fist immediately unclenched and he grabbed onto the large bear's claws. I could tell the Beartic weighed a ton as Talace struggled to lift him, but managed and hurled the Pokémon across the field, and it landed with a crash.

"Not bad, but still not good enough" Brycen said with a sneer as his Beartic began to stand up.

I snarled and clenched my fists.

"Heat crash" I called and Talace again produced a large flaming ball. This one however went faster than any I had seen him do before and quickly crashed into the Beartic, causing it to growl in pain and stumble backwards.

"Arm thrust" I said in something near a whisper and Talace flew towards the large bear. Before the huge creature had time to react, Talace had thrown a punch more powerful than any I had ever seen and the Beartic was knocked out.

Brycen looked shocked as he called back his Pokémon but I saw a slight smile tug on his lips.

"You possess a strong heart" I heard him say as he walked over to me. He held out his hand and I shook it. I could tell his cockiness had disappeared and he now had a look of respect etched on his face.

"Have this" he said, handing me a badge.

"The freeze badge, proof of your win at the Icirrus gym" with that he placed the badge in my palm and slightly bowed before shuffling away. I stood in awe, realizing I now was just one badge away from challenging the Pokémon league. I heard footsteps and smiled up at Talace as he walked over to me.

"You were amazing" I said with a grin.

He snorted a thanks.

"You know, your attacks are really starting to pick up some power" I said with a light chuckle.

He puffed out his chest with pride and nodded. With that I returned him and walked back to the front of the gym.

* * *

The minute I exited I heard a voice call my name. I turned a little to the left and saw Cheren jogging over to me with a worried look on his face.

"What's wrong Cher?" I asked.

He stopped in front of me and adjusted his glasses.

"Well, Bianca and I were talking and….. do you think I have changed since we left Nuvema Town?" he asked, looking at me with questioning eyes.

I paused, thinking over his question, "Well, maybe a little, but I think we all have" I said, trying to lighten Cheren's mood.

"I just… I don't know what I want to do. And when I think about it, is it _me_ that has gotten strong; or my Pokémon?" he questioned, looking at the ground. "I just don't know anymore"

I frowned. Cheren was obviously going through some kind of mid-journey crisis and I didn't know how to help.

"Well that's our Cheren, even when he's got his two best buddies here for him" Bianca said, walking up beside me.

"Oh hi Bianca, what are you doing here?" I asked, giving her a quick hug.

"Well I was here to check out the Pokémon fanclub, you know-"

"Who's there?" someone called from behind me, cutting Bianca off. I whipped around to see Brycen standing a few feet away, his eyes frantically searching.

"Well, I'm Bianca and this is Cheren" Bianca said, sounding peeved someone had interrupted her.

Brycen disregarded her statement, "I know you're here, how about you show yourselves" he growled.

I gasped as I saw a blur and before me stood the Shadow Triad.

"Well done, Icirrus gym leader." One of the Triad members said, sounding almost amused. His voice was low and strong, it commanded attention.

"Very few can perceive the Shadow Triad lurking in the shadows" he said, again sounding amused.

The man who had spoken, and who appeared be the leader then turned to me.

"There was something we were planning on telling White _alone,_ but never mind that" his eyes flitted over to the side but soon flicked back to me.

"Lord Ghetsis has a message for you: come to Dragonspiral Tower"

The Triad member to the left then stepped forward and spoke.

"Lord N awaits you there, that is all" they then bowed.

"Wait, Dragonspiral Tower, what do you mean. Hey! Details!" Brycen half yelled.

I swore I could see a small smile on the leader of the Triad's face before they again disappeared into thin air.

"If you youths would like to challenge the gym, I ask you wait a little while. I am off to Dragonspiral Tower" Brycen said, directing his statement towards Cheren and Bianca.

"I'm coming too" Cheren said. Brycen nodded and they both quickly jogged away.

I really hadn't comprehended any of what they had said. N was waiting for me? Ghetsis told me to go to Dragonspiral tower? Why?

There had to be some reason; and all of a sudden I had an odd feeling coursing throughout my body. Something had changed, something was about to happen, but I couldn't put my finger on what.

"White!" Bianca yelled, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Hm?"

"I am going to go to Dragonspiral Tower as well, I'll meet you there" she said, her usual giddy smile gone. I weakly nodded and watched her jog away as well.

I stood still for a while, watching the snow slowly fall, my thoughts eating away at me before I violently shook my head, trying to rid it of all my worries. I put a determined look on my face and started walking, vowing to find out why N wanted to see me, and why he hadn't come to tell me himself.

* * *

It had been about forty five minutes since I set out towards Dragonspiral tower and I had finally made it. I managed to actually catch a Mienfoo along the way, but the serious look on my face stayed.

As soon as the tower was in sight I saw Bianca standing out front talking to Mr. Juniper.

"Oh hi White, did you know he's Professor Juniper's father?" she asked as I walked up to them. I nodded and she looked surprised.

"Why yes, White and I have met; but we can leave leisurely talking for later! White!" he said, looking panicked.

"Let me explain the situation. A large number of Plasma grunts tore through the walls of the tower and got inside" he said.

My eyes widened. Why would Team Plasma want Dragonspiral Tower, there wasn't anything of value there for them. I then remembered what Mr. Juniper had said about the legendary Pokémon and the wheels started turning.

"Wait, why would they do that? What's so special about this tower?" Bianca asked, taking almost the exact words from my thoughts.

The professor chuckled, "Right then, let me explain. Dragonspiral Tower is a structure from long, long ago. Before the creation of Unova even. On the very top floor the legendary dragon Pokémon awaits the appearance of a human in pursuit of the ideal….. or so they say"

'N' I thought.

"So are you two going to chase down Team Plasma like Brycen and that other youth…. oh yes, Cheren have?"

I nodded.

"Well I can't exactly approve of you two going after Team Plasma…." he started but Bianca cut him off.

"Oh don't worry. White and Cheren are super strong, they have beat Plasma members a bunch of times now." She paused, now looking at the ground, "I'm…. uh…. not that strong though. I guess I could… stay here and be your bodyguard Professor" she said, with a faint smile.

"Really? That's reassuring" he said and I could tell he was humoring Bianca.

"Well then White," he said with a smile, "I'm counting on you"

I smiled and nodded before running towards the tower. Bianca and the professor were out of sight within the minute but it took closer to five to get to the entrance to the tower. There was a large clear lake and I made my way across the marble bridge. I took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves and muster up some courage. I still couldn't shake anything that had been said to me and I found myself scared but excited. I walked into the building and paused. Everything inside the castle was beautiful. White and green accented the many pillars and stone walls along with the tile floor. The minute I started walking further into the building I heard a deafening sound.

"Aaarg" I let out as I covered my ears and dropped to my knees. The entire structure started to shake and some small rocks and crumbles from the ceiling started falling. The second I started to worry the entire building was going to crash down the sound stopped and the tower was once again silent and still. I could tell something huge, and alive was on top of the tower, and seemed to not be too awfully happy.

I stood up hesitantly and brushed myself off, continuing to walk. I scaled multiple stairways, all leading almost straight upwards. There were a surprising number of Pokémon in the tower and I managed to catch a Golett and a Druddigon. Every once in a while I would again hear the deafening sound and the tower would shake, but after a few moments everything would calm back down. I saw the occasional grunt and they would challenge me to a battle, but I easily beat all of them, continuing my extremely long trek.

I sighed and regulated my breathing after climbing yet another staircase but was met with a different sight. There had to be about ten grunts and they all quickly crowded around me, looking angry I had made it up this far.

"White! I'll hold off these grunts, you go on ahead!" I looked to my right and saw Brycen jog up to me, followed by Cheren, both of them pulling out a pokeball. I slowly nodded and squeezed past the grunts. They started to follow me but somehow Brycen and Cheren caught their attention and they gave up the chase.

I walked for the next hour, tirelessly climbing staircase after staircase, battling countless grunts. 'Good lord N, you could've made it easier if you wanted me to find you here' I thought to myself with an amused grin. Finally I made it up what had to be the hundredth staircase but this time I heard someone talking. I pressed my back against the wall and tried to listen.

"There is less and less doubt that Lord N will be our hero" I heard a low and gravely voice say. I thought at first it was Ghetsis but soon realized it was someone else.

The loud screech was again heard and I let out a loud gasp of pain. The sound pierced right through my scull and at times I wondered if my head was going to explode. The sound finally stopped and I let out a sigh of relief.

"What? You came all the way up here? How bizarre" I heard the same voice say. I looked up and realized I had stumbled out of my hiding spot when the noise had taken over my senses.

"Well for the sake of Lord N, trap her here!" the man yelled and the fifty or so grunts surrounding him did as they were told.

"All but Team Plasma are enemies, we shall use our power to remove you"

I growled and snapped Talace's pokeball out of my necklace, ready for however many battles it would take to overpower them.

* * *

**A/N: So I hope you enjoyed this! Next chapter should be on Wednesday. Thanks for all of the messages and reviews about who you want White to end up with as well. N dominated and won by a landslide, but I still haven't made up my mind yet. *rubs hands together* the ****_suspense_**** lol. :)**


	41. Hero

**Well hello there, now it's time for Chapter 41. I apolgize for the last chapter, it felt a little off. This one should be steering back on track; it is a little blippy and has a lot of text from the game but a ****ton**** happens, so it's worth it haha. I ****_really_**** like the next chapter for some reason, and that will be up on Friday.**

**Okay a couple of things.**

**-I have another little intro thing, that's why the title isn't below this note. I seriously enjoy writing those things for some reason. It is much easier for me to write in the third person, so this story has been a challenge. 'Oh and if you can't tell, the words in italics are what Reshiram is saying, since N can understand him and all that good stuff; just in case you wouldn't have caught on, haha'.**

**-Again, thanks for sticking with me through this incredibly long story**

**- And last but not least, another batch of Poke-lover88's shameless self-promotion! I have started a collab with pokeninja6600. It is on her account and I would absolutely adore it if you guys checked it out. She is in my favorite author's box thingy and she also has left a recent review on this story as well. It might be a little serious at first but things will lighten up. It's called Roma's Story and I write the even chapters, she writes the odd, lol. So if you have a chance, go ahead and skip on over there and tell us what you think of it so far!**

**- Sorry for the incredibly long note; thanks for reading it though haha.**

**Anywho, enjoy! :)**

**~Poke-lover88**

* * *

N tapped his foot impatiently on the tile floor.

_Why are you so nervous?_

N's head snapped up to look at the large white dragon behind him.

"I'm not nervous" he mumbled and looked back to the entrance to the room, drumming his fingers on the arm of his chair.

N had made his way up to the top of the tower a few hours earlier, and just as his father had instructed him, he brought the Light Stone. His dreams came true when the legendary dragon Reshiram appeared before him and confirmed his theory of being the hero.

_I can tell you are nervous N, now tell me why. Is it because of the other hero?_

N's foot stopped tapping as Reshiram had hit the nail on the head with that remark. Reshiram was comfortable around N; it felt like they had been together for years when in all reality it had only been just over an hour.

"Um, yes I guess you could say that" N said quitely.

_Why are you so nervous about meeting the other hero?_

"I've already met her" N whispered.

He was extremely worried about telling White. He knew she knew he was one hero, and the small girl had waited with baited breath to find out who the other would be; the one to oppose him; the one she was routing for.

But when he would tell her the fact that the _she_ was the hero; how would she react? N feared for the worst. She had stormed off when he had told her he was the King of Team Plasma; and most likely it was what she would do again. She was to oppose him, that means she couldn't love him anymore, could she?

N rubbed his temples, extremely stressed by the situation.

_You know her….. well that is to be expected._

N's head once again whipped up and looked at Reshiram.

"What do you mean?" he asked, confused by the dragon's statement.

_Well, the first two heroes knew each other as well._

N patiently waited for Reshiram to continue but was interrupted as a grunt burst into the room.

"I'm sorry my lord-"

N waved his hand to dismiss the grunt, cutting him off. He wanted to know what Reshiram had to say and was almost annoyed that they had been interrupted. Countless grunts had run up and told N that they were sorry they couldn't beat her. This didn't bother N, he was in fact a little confused as to why Ghetsis had set up so many obstacles for the girl. Honestly it would have worried N more if she lost to a grunt.

"What were you saying Reshiram?" N asked, his eyes glowing with interest in what the dragon had to say.

_The first two heroes were brothers._

N nodded, "I know, but what does that have to do with me and White?"

_The heroes will always have a connection to each other. The first two were brothers and you two are….._

N blushed slightly, "Well, I guess we are….. boyfriend and girlfriend"

Reshiram slightly nodded.

_The heroes will always have a bond._

N frowned, "Is that really a bond? I mean the first two were genetically connected, love can come and go"

Reshiram slightly smiled, its eyes flicking over to the door and then back to N.

_Yes, love does come and go, but it should be different for you._

N gave Reshiram a confused look.

_A connection is what the heroes have, and a strong one at that. I do say you two don't just have love; you must have the one love._

"Wait, you mean like… soulmates?" N asked, making a face.

_Sort of._

N found himself smiling. The girl he loved had some sort of supernatural connection to him; that was why the dragons chose both him and her. N loved her with all his heart, and for some reason hearing this made him feel giddy.

_You better get ready, she is getting closer._

N nodded and again began tapping his foot. He was still quite nervous about telling her; and all it would trigger. It would be in her hands whether or not his ideals became a reality.

N smiled however; they were connected, and special. The two chosen ones. He was snapped out of his thoughts as another grunt ran in. N nodded to immediately dismiss him and braced himself. That was the last grunt, which meant that next person coming through that door would be _her._

* * *

**_Chapter 41: Hero_**

I sighed in relief as the last grunt had been defeated. I returned Talace and congratulated him on battles well fought. I trudged to the staircase in front of me and took a deep breath. Something told me this was the last staircase, the last one before I would finally see N. I walked up the stairs, slowly counting each one. I realized I couldn't put it off and made a face of determination. I then practically ran up the last few steps, flying through the doorway, and found myself in a large room. I gasped.

N sat before me in a chair, but quickly stood up when I entered. I hardly noticed this or any other detail however as my eyes were glued to the creature behind him. A large white dragon: Reshiram. His head almost hit the ceiling and he had to duck a bit. His wings were tucked close to his body and he moved slightly as he breathed.

My eyes reluctantly landed on N however as he began to speak.

"Well, White." he said with a smile, "Reshiram has shown himself for the hero that shall guide the world"

My mind had troubles comprehending what N had said. He had actually done it, what he had talked about doing for months on end had actually happened.

"Together we will fight to bring reassurance to all Pokémon" N said, motioning to Reshiram and then to himself, "And now I will head to the Pokémon League with Reshiram, where we shall surpass the Champion. Thereupon we shall put an end to the Pokémon battles that wound Pokémon so"

"A world of only Pokémon….. it shall finally be realized" he said quietly, his eyes glowing with happiness.

Suddenly Reshiram's wings flew out to the side and he stretched them, apparently getting ready to take off.

"If you wish to stop us White, you too must fulfill your destiny as hero as well" N said with a light smile.

My breath caught in my throat. What had he just said?

"So, seek out Zekrom, the Pokémon paired with Reshiram and finally all shall be equal. Then you can try and stop us" he said.

Wait, Zekrom, the other legendary dragon; for me? I was shocked and stunned, now unable to move. The hero, the person I had so looked forward to meeting….. was me? The one person who could stop N and keep people from being separated from Pokémon was…. me?

"So, what will you do?" N said, putting a hand on Reshiram, "My prediction? In the future I foresee you will indeed meet Zekrom" N made an odd expression and I again saw the same look on his face as when we had first met.

"I offer a challenge to you who walks with Pokémon and earns their trust" N said, motioning to me, "Can you put up an opposition to the formula that will change the world?" he shrugged, letting me know he didn't have a clue, just like myself.

"If you wish to preserve the bonds between people and Pokémon, seek out Zekrom!" he said and then looked almost sympathetic.

"Zekrom surely awaits you in the form of the Dark Stone" he said and gently smiled. His gaze quickly whipped behind me and I heard footsteps. N looked back to me with a pained look and hesitated. I could tell he wanted to leave before the people reached us, but he also wanted to talk with me. Reshiram began flapping its wings and N dropped his arms down in defeat, gracefully climbing onto the dragon's back. Before I knew it N and Reshiram had flown out through a hole in the ceiling I had failed to notice and were out of sight.

I still couldn't move; my body was numb. I had received so much information and surprising news it appeared my body and mind were in shock because of it.

The hero, the one hero….. was me. I was the one to gain the approval of Zekrom. He was to choose me and then we would battle against N and Reshiram; his counterpart. I dropped to my knees, still trying to process the information but soon found my lips twitching upwards into a smile.

I didn't have to rely on someone else to fight N. I didn't have to stand on the sideline and simply hope for that person to win. I had control over it and I could fight for what I believed in. I had a say in the matter, after all… I was apparently the hero.

* * *

"White what on Earth was that flying thing? That wasn't N was it? How was he with the legendary Pokémon? He couldn't really be called a hero could he?" Cheren's questions spilled out of his mouth quickly and I didn't have time to answer, even if I could.

He put a hand on my back.

"Did I hear him tell you to seek out the other legendary Pokémon?" Cheren asked, now talking softly as he realized I was still in shock.

I slowly stood up and nodded.

Cheren gasped, obviously almost as shocked as I was.

"Now everyone just calm down. We need to just calm down and sort things out" I heard Brycen say in a calm voice.

The next few hours went by in a blur. I was still in some sort of shock and everything seemed muffled and muted.

We met up with Professor Juniper. She had seemed as surprised as everyone else and Bianca had nearly lost her mind when she heard I was the one to seek out the other dragon.

Alder showed up and explained the myth to everyone, clearing things up greatly. It seemed he was skeptical however; he knew how powerful Reshiram was and wondered if N was going to abuse the power. He had wondered aloud if N was going to use fear or admiration to get people to believe in what he did.

Alder had given me a pat on the back, trying somehow to comfort me. He gave me a congratulations, something no one else had done and I thought it weird.

After a few long hours of conversing, Alder stood up.

"Little miss you're too soft" he said in a loud voice, directed at Bianca.

This somehow immediately snapped me out of my daze and I watched as Bianca's face turned sad.

"I'm just saying, a Pokémon like that has to be dangerous right?" Bianca said quietly.

Alder shook his head, "Yes of course, but I'm sure both N and White can handle them."

Bianca nodded slightly.

"Well at any rate it seems that the legends are true" Alder said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I think it best if we follow what N said. Finding the dragon… or I guess the stone it is in… shouldn't be the problem. Rather it's the disaster that could occur if Team Plasma finds both of them." He said in a grim tone.

I all of a sudden felt like I was in some sort of top secret meeting. Bianca, Cheren, Juniper, Alder, and I had been talking for hours about a topic that was quite serious, and everything seemed hush hush.

"Alright, there is a place called Relic Castle that I have found throughout my journey and I believe maybe we should start there" Alder said, pushing in his chair.

"Alright, I'm coming too" Cheren added.

"I'll go back to Dragonspiral Tower and search for anything that might be useful" Juniper added.

"I'll come with you Professor" Bianca said.

Alder motioned for me to follow him and Cheren and I agreed. I brought out Sigilyph, Cheren brought out his Unfezant, and Alder called out a Braviary.

Just as the past few hours had, the next hour flew by as well. But I felt different now. Before everything was muffled and blurred, but now I saw things better than I ever had before. I was filled with life and excitement. I smiled lightly patting Sigilyph before I returned him. We had landed in the Desert Resort and trekked for a while until we came across Relic Castle.

We walked down multiple staircases, but nothing exciting was around. We moved aside rocks, dug in the sand, anything, trying to find the stone. In all reality it was a futile attempt, we didn't even know what the stone looked like.

There were countless tourists that we passed, but the lower we got in the castle the more they started to thin out. We met Ryoku, who turned out to be a Sage. Alder had gotten quite angry and yelled at the man, but the Sage just smiled and told me Ghetsis had told him about me.

"Well I'm sorry White" Alder said as we reached the end of the last staircase, "I thought for sure we would find it here"

"What an orderly little bunch" I heard a low voice say. I whipped around as I knew exactly who it was and glared at the man standing in front of me.

Ghetsis had an unusual smile on his normally angry looking face and addressed me.

"The other dragon….. you've gone through a lot of trouble looking to revive Zekrom. But I must tell you that the Dark Stone isn't here"

I frowned, and I could tell both Alder and Cheren were frowning as well.

"Now…." Ghetsis started in a calm voice, slowly advancing towards me.

Alder and Cheren both quickly stepped forward, intercepting him. I felt a small smile tug on my lips. Alder and Cheren were like the father and brother I never had. I chuckled to myself at the thought but quickly turned my attention to the situation at hand when I heard a low growl. I could tell it was Ghetsis and Alder and Cheren immediately backed off. I gulped slightly, Ghetsis was a scary man and I wasn't too sure about having him this close to me.

The smile soon returned to Ghetsis' face and he walked till he was only a foot away, leaning over so he was down at my level.

"I must congratulate you White" he cooed and I flinched at the sound of my name in his horrid voice. "You have been chosen by our King" he said, straightening up and started to walk around me.

I stood rigidly, hoping that was all he had to say, but he continued.

"If you wish for this world where people live with Pokémon to go on….."

He was now behind me and bent down so his lips were right by my ear.

"You must subdue the other Pokémon spoken of in the legend, and fight our king" he almost whispered. I flinched away from him, praying he would move farther away but he stayed and continued.

"If you do not, Team Plasma will steal Pokémon from all people and let them loose" he hissed. I felt my blood boiling at just the thought and began to lightly shake with anger. I kept my mouth shut however as I knew it best not to agitate Ghetsis.

"Let them loose?" I heard Alder question, "Is that what the Pokémon that coexist with humans really want? Are you saying that stealing them from people is setting them free?" I could hear the anger in Alder's voice and knew that Ghetsis noticed it as well. He sighed and straightened up, now walking over to face Alder.

"So this is the champion, Alder" Ghetsis said and I could hear the cocky smirk in his voice. "You lost a long-time Pokémon partner of yours to illness some years back"

I glanced over at Alder and saw his hands were now balled into fists.

"Afterward, without having to fight any battles, you were ordered by the elite four to protect the Pokémon League."

Now Ghetsis sounded angry, "You have made Unova unsteady" he growled.

"Such a Champion as you wishes to protect this world where Pokémon and people live together?"

Alder nodded.

"Hah" Ghetsis scoffed and for a moment I thought Alder would punch him.

"We and our king will show Unova that Team Plasma is stronger than even the Champion. And just like the hero who created Unova, we will subdue the legendary Pokémon and make _all_ follow our orders" Ghetsis growled, his visible eye glowing with greed.

"All trainers will relinquish their Pokémon to _us_" he said, turning back to me with a smirk.

"I can't lose to you" Alder hissed, "For the sake of all the trainers and Pokémon, I can't lose"

"Please" Ghetsis said, with a grunt, "Our King is not interested in you, he thinks of you as nothing more than a foe" Ghetsis then turned to me, "You however…." He trailed off.

"So you stayed here just to say _that?_" Alder bellowed.

"Gentle, calm down" Ghetsis said, glancing back at Alder, "We wouldn't want our precious Champion to get pointlessly hurt now would we?" he said, sneering.

"We will send everyone into despair" Ghetsis said, again walking over to Alder, "Oh how I will _love_ seeing that moment" he said, grinning.

Ghetsis then swiftly began walking away, glancing down at me in the process, "Well then, take care" he said and within moments had disappeared.

I let out a sigh that I had been holding in for a while now.

"Wow" Cheren said quietly. "So what are you going to do now Alder?" Cheren questioned.

"Well, I guess I've got no choice but to return to the Pokémon League and fight N. I need to do my part in trying to stop them"

Both Cheren and I nodded, figuring it was the best idea as well. We all trudged back out of Relic Castle and stopped at the entrance.

"I wonder what that N really wants" Alder whispered, "Does he want to prove himself right by having the two dragons fight?"

He shook his head. Cheren and Alder then took off and I was finally left in silence. I stood still, my thoughts eating away at me before I heard my X-transceiver ring.

"HELLO, WHITE, HELLO?" I saw Professor Juniper's worried face on the screen.

"Oh, it connected" she said, sounding embarrassed, "White I need you at the Nacrene Museum right away!" she exclaimed.

I weakly nodded and she hung up.

I wondered why she had asked so urgently, and what was at the museum. But deep down, I knew exactly what was going to happen, and I was oddly excited.

* * *

**A/N: So yeah, again next chapter will be up on Friday. Thanks for all of the recent reviews, you guys are awesome. And again go ahead and check out that collab if you have time. I would love you forever. :)**


	42. The Busiest Day

**So chapter 42 now. I really like this chapte for some reason; I don't really even know why, but I do! :) Not much to say other than that. I will hopefully post one on Monday, and we will be back in Johto then.**

**Oh, also real quick, if any of you support Checkmateshipping, which not many people do, I wrote a one-shot for that, so... again, shameless self promotion.**

**And lastly, I just created a poll on my profile, I would absolutley love to know what you guys think. It would really help me in figuring out what to write next, or just what you guys think.**

**I hope you all have a great weekend! I know I will because we are going to get our CHRISTMAS TREE! Yay!**

**So yeah, again, long Author's note.**

**I hope you enjoy! :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 42: The Busiest Day**_

I had arrived at the museum a few minutes ago and everything was already going awry. Professor Juniper was acting frantic, but I could tell she was excited.

"So is this what you were talking about?" Lenora asked as she stepped out of the museum. She looked up and smiled.

"Oh hi White"

"Hey Lenora" I said, smiling back.

"Ooh, so that's the stone you found in the Desert Resort?" Bianca asked, reaching out towards the stone. Lenora jerked it out of her reach but nodded.

My eyes widened and my breath caught in my throat. The stone was smaller than I thought, only a little larger than my hand. It seemed to glow, and I was mesmerized by it. So that was the stone Zekrom was resting in, the dragon that was possibly mine.

"Yeah, so this is really a dragon Pokémon?" Lenora asked skeptically, lifting the stone up so she could look at the bottom of it.

Professor Juniper nodded and we all jerked our heads to the right when we heard a voice.

"So I did some research at Dragonspiral Tower" Mr. Juniper said, jogging up to us, "And there was some evidence dating back to the era this Dark Stone was from" he said, reaching to grab the stone. Lenora reluctantly let it go and the Professor brushed his fingers across the stone, wiping some dust off of it.

"We are just really lucky Team Plasma didn't get to it before we did" Bianca muttered.

"Yeah, now come to think of it" Lenora said, looking upwards, "if they were planning on resurrecting a dragon Pokémon, maybe that's why they took the Dragonite Scull"

I remembered back to the day I had fought Lenora and Team Plasma had stolen the scull. I nodded, that was actually probably the case, we just hadn't realized it. Man we were lucky.

"Well then White" Mr. Juniper said with a smile, "This is for…"

"WAIT!" I heard a voice call, interrupting the professor.

"White" Alder said, jogging over and leaning down to look into my eyes, "Taking this stone means fighting N, should anything happen to me" he said, looking sad.

"Are you ready for that?" he questioned.

I had contemplated this question for the past few hours and I knew I had my answer.

"I know. I'm ready" I said in a determined tone.

Alder grinned, "That's my girl"

"Alright then White, it's all yours" Mr. Juniper said and handed me the stone.

I beamed down at the rock, holding it close to me, careful not to drop it. It was rich black in color and my fingertips tingled as I touched it. I expected it to be quite heavy but it was surprisingly almost as light as a feather. I smiled, now feeling excited jitters.

"The world where everyone can live with Pokémon…. protect it for us" Alder said with a smile, putting a hand on my shoulder. I nodded and carefully slipped the stone into my bag, putting it in a place that it wouldn't fall out, and it wasn't easily visible.

"So how do you expect to revive the Pokémon?" Lenora asked.

"Uh" Mr. Juniper started, "Oh yes, there are two that I think could help. White, go to Opelucid City, the gym leader there might have some answers."

With that the two professors nodded and walked away, talking amongst themselves. Alder bid me goodbye and took off once again on his Braviary; and Lenora climbed the stairs to go back into the museum, followed by Bianca.

I sighed. I wasn't ready to go to Opelucid City yet, but I knew I would travel there soon. I called out Sigilyph and decided to go ahead and go back to Icirrus City. I realized I just needed to act like nothing had happened, because nothing really _had_ happened yet. I was given a rock, big deal. But I knew it _was_ a big deal, and I smiled as my hand slipped into my bag and touched the stone.

I hoped Zekrom would like me.

* * *

I walked down the hall and turned the key in my Pokémon Center room's door. I yawned and shut it behind me, setting my bag down.

"White!" I heard a voice exclaim.

"OH JEEZ!" I yelled, jumping about a foot in the air, "N, DON'T SCARE ME LIKE THAT!" I half yelled.

He chuckled, "Sorry, I have been waiting for you here for a few hours and I was starting to think you weren't coming back" he said, a worried expression on his face.

"Of course I'm coming back" I said with a smile and walked towards him.

I leaned over and kissed his cheek and I could feel him tense up. I pulled back and frowned.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

N looked surprised, "You aren't mad?"

I made a face, "Why would I be mad?"

"Well, you know… I mean…. I guess we are kind of like rivals now. And I expected you to be mad at me"

I laughed quietly, "No, I'm not mad at you sweetie" I said, sitting down in his lap.

His eyes sparkled and I could tell this was the answer he was hoping for, but he soon frowned.

"I can't tell what you're thinking about all of this." he complained, "Please tell me what you are feeling, love"

I nodded, "Well, I don't really feel like much has changed" I admitted, "I mean, I always knew you were going to resurrect the white dragon; it definitely surprised me that the other hero was me though" I said, looking to the right, but turned my gaze back to him quickly, "But I'm actually kind of glad, now I don't have to rely on someone else to beat you"

N smiled, "Now don't think I'm going to go easy on you" he said in a joking tone.

"I wouldn't want you to" I said with a smile, "But I mean, Zekrom hasn't shown himself yet, so who knows what's going to happen" I said, leaning forward and resting my head on his shoulder.

N wrapped his arms around me and sighed, "I'm really glad you are taking all this in stride" he said, and I could hear the smile in his voice.

I nodded slightly, I was actually a little surprised I was so calm about it all; it kind of felt like everything had fallen into place, and a huge weight had been taken off of my shoulders, however another one was put right back on with knowing I was responsible for Zekrom.

"White, my love" N started and I blushed at the sweet name.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Would you like to meet Reshiram?" he hesitantly asked.

I quickly pulled back and grinned, "YES!"

He chuckled and we both stood up. He looked around and frowned.

"I don't think he will fit in here so we might want to take it outside." I nodded. It took us just over a half an hour to find a spot in the forest where not only would Reshiram fit, but no one else would see the large dragon.

"Alright, come out my friend" N called and a bright flash of white signaled Reshiram's arrival. He stretched out his wings and looked to N, seemingly confused as to why he was let out. His gaze however snapped over to me and I could hear a loud growl in his throat.

"Hey" N said sternly and Reshiram quickly looked to N, a confused expression on his giant face.

"You know what we talked about" N said hesitantly, "White is not treated as an enemy until our final battle, alright?"

Reshiram paused and growled some. N and Reshiram conversed about me for a minute or two and then the large white dragon turned back to face me. He walked forward a few steps until he was quite close and gently bent over so I could pet his head.

I stroked his long white fur and smiled at how soft it was. I was in awe of how beautiful Reshiram was. He was an extremely powerful dragon, and yet was quite gentle and graceful.

"Thank you Reshiram" N said quietly.

The large dragon Pokémon seemed to purr when I petted him and I could tell after N's reassurances he was now comfortable. His large blue eyes met with mine and I gently smiled at him.

"Hi Reshiram" I said gently and he seemed to almost nod, recognizing my greeting and extending one to me as well.

N walked over and stood beside me, "I'm glad you two are getting along" he said with a smile.

I nodded and pulled my hands away from Reshiram's large head.

Reshiram turned his gaze to N and growled out something. I looked up at N and saw he was frowning.

"Yes she does" N said, sounding like he was trying to convince Reshiram of something.

Reshiram growled again and N frowned further.

"Yes she does" he said again, lightly stamping his foot like a frustrated child.

Reshiram growled again and lightly smiled.

N huffed and quickly turned to me, leaning over and crushing his lips to mine. My eyes flew open, surprised by the sudden gesture but I soon smiled, beginning to return N's affection. N pulled back after a moment with a dazed look on his face but shook his head and turned to Reshiram.

"See, she still loves me"

Reshiram nodded. I spent another fifteen minutes with Reshiram, N translated some and by the end of our time together, Reshiram and I were really starting to get along. N returned the dragon and we made our way back to the Pokémon Center room. We ate dinner, and watched a movie, snuggled up on the couch. Literally the second the film came to a close my X-transceiver rang. I picked it up and saw Ash's happy face on the screen.

"HI WHITE!" he said loudly.

I blinked a few times, "You don't have to yell Ash, I can hear you just fine" I said with a chuckle.

"Oh" Ash said looking embarrassed.

"So why are you calling?" I asked and saw Pikachu hop up on Ash's shoulder.

"Pika Pika" he said with a smile.

"Yes, hello to you too Pikachu" I said with a smile.

"Well, I was calling to tell you that I finally got my eighth badge" Ash said, visibly shaking with excitement.

"Really?" I asked. Ash had flown through Johto in record time.

"Yup, I am entering in the Johto League's Silver Conference day after tomorrow and I hoped you would come back to watch me compete. Oh and also Brock wants you to come back. Oh and Misty wants to go shopping" Ash added, looking behind the screen and I could tell both Brock and Misty had told him to say those things.

I chuckled, "I would love to watch you compete, I'll head on back tomorrow"

"WHAT?" I heard N screech and widened my eyes, looking over to him.

"You're not leaving already are you?" he asked, looking visibly shaken by my comment.

I sighed, "Listen Ash, I'll be there tomorrow, see you then" with that I hung up and made my way back over to N who looked like he might cry at any moment.

"I'm sorry sweetheart" I said with a frown. I had only been in Unova for three days. I honestly didn't want to go back to Johto just yet but I had promised Ash, and I was actually looking forward to watching another tournament.

"I've barely gotten to see you and you're already going back?" N questioned, sniffing.

My heart sank and I frowned. I strattled his lap and cradled his face in my hands.

"I know, and I'm sorry. I wasn't planning on going back this soon, but I kind of promised Ash" I said, stroking his cheek with my thumb.

He looked at me with pleading eyes, "Is it because of the whole hero thing, and you don't want to be around me anymore?" he asked.

I could tell he still wasn't convinced that I was fine with all of this and I frowned further.

"Of course not, it is simply to watch Ash, that's all" I said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"And I'll always want to be around you" I reassured him and he lightly nodded.

He leaned into my hand and sighed.

"I really don't want you to go back. I mean the last time I let you leave you broke your foot and sliced open your arm. This time you might kill yourself" he said, dead serious.

I burst out laughing. N gave me a look of confusion and I smiled.

"I'll be fine N, those were just some freak accidents" I said, a smile still on my face.

He chuckled slightly and nodded. I let out my Pokémon for the night and everything went routinely. All of my Pokémon curled up in their respective spots around the room and Talace began to walk into the other bedroom but stopped, turning to face N.

He grunted and I turned to N for a translation.

"Yes" he answered simply. Talace's eyes widened and he quickly made his way over to stand in front of N. I crawled out of his lap and scooted further away so I could better observe the conversation.

Talace grunted.

"Mhm" N replied.

Another grunt.

"Mhm, you might want to talk to her" N said, motioning to me.

Talace looked at me with a bewildered expression and I frowned.

"What's wrong?"

"He could sense I had Reshiram" N stated flatly, "He was surprised I _was_ truly the hero, and wanted to know if we knew who the other was"

I looked at the ground, realizing it was better for me to tell Talace than for N to.

"Well, Talace" I started, my eyes flicking around, "We actually _did_ find out who the other hero is" I said hesitantly. He grunted and I could tell he was asking who it was.

I sighed and stood up, walking over and pulling the stone out of my bag.

Talace's eyes widened even further, something I didn't think was possible and I almost laughed at how he looked. I could see a slight look of surprise on N's face as well; obviously no one had told him I had found the stone. His face went back to having a slight smile soon however, and I could tell he was actually glad I had found the Dark Stone.

Talace grunted and pointed at me, no doubtedly saying, 'so it's you?'

I nodded.

A wide smile broke across Talace's face and he snorted in approval.

N laughed and I looked at him with a questioning glance.

"He says he always knew he would get a special trainer" N said and chuckled.

I grinned and safely tucked away the stone again.

I talked with Talace for a bit, explaining everything and surprisingly enough he was acting decent towards N.

We finished our conversation a few hours later and it was beyond pitch black outside. I yawned and N patted my knee.

"You ready for bed?"

I nodded and stood up. Talace stood up as well and I could've collapsed with surprise at his next action. He huffed and held out his large arm towards N.

N smiled and stood up as well, placing his hand in Talace's. They shook once and Talace once again retired into the other bedroom.

N looked to me and smiled.

"You're going to catch some Flygons if you leave your mouth open that wide" he said with a grin.

I quickly closed my jaw and rushed over to him.

"What did he say? Why is he suddenly okay with you?" I asked.

N smiled, "Well he isn't _exactly_ okay with me." N said, walking into the bedroom. I quickly followed him and waited for him to continue.

He sat down on the bed, not saying a word and I moved my hands around, letting him know I was still waiting for an explanation.

"He said he has a respect for me now" N said, taking off his hat.

I waited for more and N sighed, giving in.

"He says if I am strong enough to be one of the heroes, and not only that but I was sort of…." N paused.

"Paired with you" he said, making an odd face, "Then he respects me as a trainer"

I grinned, "So he is actually going to get along with you now?" I asked.

N chuckled, "No probably not, he still hasn't forgiven me for hurting you before" N said, his smile fading.

"Pssshhht he sure knows how to hold a grudge" I said, climbing in next to N.

N nodded and pulled me in closer.

We were quiet for a while, mulling over the plethora of things that had happened that day. In one day, twenty-four hours, I had; challenged a gym, gotten a badge, gone through Dragonspiral Tower, found out N was the hero, seen Reshiram to prove this fact, been told I was the other hero, searched for the stone, found the stone, made nice with Reshiram, and Talace and N had formed some sort of agreement.

I blinked rapidly, still trying to process it all.

"You know, you kind of remind me of Reshiram" N said.

"What?" I said, starting to laugh at his completely off the wall comment.

"You do"

"Why?" I asked, making a face.

"I don't know. I mean, you are the other hero, and your name is White, and he is a white dragon. And you both have blue eyes" he said, trailing off.

"I wonder if Reshiram was really meant for you" he said quietly.

I shook my head, "Nope, that dragon was definitely meant for you"

"But he's even a fire type" N said, frowning.

I again shook my head, "N, do you think that Reshiram would've appeared for the wrong hero?" I asked, seriously questioning N's judgment.

He chuckled, "Yeah I guess you're right"

I snuggled into his chest, once again fiddling with his necklace.

"It kills me your going back tomorrow" he said, a pained tone in his voice.

"I'm sorry, I'll make sure and spend extra time here next time I come back" I said with a smile.

I could feel him nod, "Good"

We again sat in silence for a while and finally I yawned, having troubles staying awake.

"Goodnight love" N cooed.

"Goodnight N, or should I say 'hero'" I said in a joking tone.

He chuckled, "I could say the same about you"

* * *

**A/N: So there we are. I hope you enjoyed it. If you are bored or are interested; go ahead and check out that poll, and my collab with pokeninja6600.**

**I will stop doing self advertising, I promise... haha.**

**Anyway, you all have a great weekend!**


	43. Two Can Play at Any Game

**Hello there. So chapter 43, wow. This is a rather short chapter, I didn't know I was capable of those anymore. :)**

**Anyway, we are back in Johto. I have been going in order of the episodes, but I am going to stray from that for a while. **

**For example this chapter is based off of the episode, "The Heartbreak of Brock". Thank you to RoseMasterD87 for the idea! :) Anyway, that episode happened right after they got to Johto, and I am just about ready to start the Silver Conference, which is at the end of the Johto episodes. So I am mixing up the order for a little while.**

**Anywho, I didn't get to write anything at all this weekend, I was ****_so_**** busy; but I wanted to get to a certain point in the story by this weekend. So I shall be busily typing, and there might be almost a chapter a day, if I can manage to have that speedy of fingers.**

**Anyway, I hope you all enjoy! :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 43: Two Can Play at Any Game**_

I once again found myself peacefully flying on Sigilyph the next day. It had taken an extremely long time that morning, _and _a call from Ghetsis to convince N not to follow me to Johto.

I smiled to myself at the thought of how worried N was about me. I had to admit I was a little bit jittery about flying to Johto after what had happened the last time, but I repeated to myself that it was a freak accident. And indeed it was because I arrived this time without any problems.

I had called Misty to ask where they were and she explained they had made it to where the Silver Conference was going to be held but they were at someone's house. She made sure not to tell me who, and that worried me a little, but she gave me the address and it was quite easy to find.

I landed out in the front yard and stared up at the mansion in front of me. I double checked the address and sure enough, it was the right house.

Misty ran out into the yard and gave me a big hug, telling me words could not express how much she hated being the only girl when I was gone. I chuckled and she led me inside.

"So whose house is this?" I asked, looking at all of the posh furniture and expensive paintings.

"Just this girl that we met" she said with a smile, "I actually didn't let Brock or Ash know about you being here yet because I wanted to show you something"

I gave her a hesitant look but went along.

"Look" she whispered once we reached a large door and pulled it open a crack.

I gave her a look but peeked inside. I saw Ash and Brock sitting at a table, drinking tea. I made a face, Brock hated tea. But what really caught my attention was the girl sitting extremely close to Brock. She had bright blue hair and was dressed in the classiest of clothing. I felt jealousy once again building up inside of me when I realized why she was so close. She was happily flirting away with Brock, hearts in her eyes.

I growled lightly. Why on Earth did I feel this way when some random girl hit on Brock? I didn't feel that way around N. But when I thought about it I realized no one else hit on N, basically because the only girl he had been introduced to was Bianca, and she was head over heels for Cheren; that of whom had no idea. I shook my head lightly, Cheren was one oblivious cookie.

"See, isn't that great?" Misty said.

I gave her a bewildered look, "No, that is most certainly _not_ great"

Misty sighed, "No, look at Brock"

I turned my attention back to the scene before me and looked closely at Brock, realizing what Misty was talking about. The girl seemed to be quite into Brock, but from what I saw, that wasn't the case for him. He was leaning away from her, laughing nervously with his eyes flitting around the room, landing on any object except the girl.

"Oh" I said quietly, an odd feeling of relief washing over me. Apparently N wasn't the only one who was the jealous type.

I continued to watch as the girl moved closer and closer to Brock until their lips were only an inch apart and I began to feel the jealousy creeping up on me.

"So how did all of this happen?" I said in a whisper, balling my hands into fists.

"Well, we were just sitting by this fountain and she came running towards us." Misty giggled slightly, "She tripped and totally almost face planted in the fountain, but Brock caught her. She has been infatuated with him ever since"

I frowned and straightened up.

"I'm going to go set things straight" I said with a grin and Misty nodded, obviously happy there was going to be some drama.

I swung open the door loudly and everyone's attention turned to Misty and I.

"Hi guys" I said with a smile.

"Hey White" Ash said with a smile and Pikachu also greeted me.

Brock stood up and smiled over at me. I had to admit I was extremely relived he didn't seem to like this girl but the fact she was flirting with him still irked me.

The blue haired female stood up and gave me her hand.

"Hi, I'm Temacu" she said with a smile.

I took her hand and tried not to shake it too roughly, "Hi, I'm White…. Brock's _girlfriend_" I said, making sure to put emphasis on the title; that of which I wasn't even sure was accurate.

She looked a bit shocked but gave me a sweet smile.

"I doubt that. Brocky-poo never told me about a girlfriend"

I widened my eyes and the jealousy came flooding back once again. My gaze turned to Brock who looked like he might just run out of the room at any moment.

"He must've forgotten to mention it" I said with a smile and wrapped my arms around his neck, using my peripheral vision to watch her expression.

"I missed you Brock" I said in a sweet voice and pulled his lips to mine. I backed away after a moment and Brock looked shocked. I brought my arms down and glanced causally back at Temacu who looked like she could blow up with rage.

"That doesn't prove anything" she said, her hands now in fists.

Brock seemed to then be snapped out of his daze and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me closer, obviously ready for round two. I smiled as he leaned down to my level and pressed his lips to mine. I pushed him back after a second and he grunted in disapproval. I smiled lightly and turned to Temacu.

"No, but that did" I said with a smirk.

I realized I was probably being a total jerk, but she had been being one; and I figured two could play at that game.

For the next few hours we stayed at Temacu's house. It was incredibly awkward as the time mostly consisted of us arguing with each other. However something was bound to happen, and indeed it did.

"Yes, all of this land is ours" Temacu's father explained as he gave us a tour of their backyard, which was more like a farm.

Then, right on cue the oh so brilliant Team Rocket members that we all knew so well came and once again tried to steal Pikachu and any other Pokémon in sight. However, having the luck that they always did, the Pokémon were fine, and they accidentally took Temacu instead.

I thought that this was hilarious but most everyone else was worried.

We sent out search parties and finally after about a half an hour of searching we found Team Rocket, and Temacu still in their possession.

"Give her back!" Temacu's father yelled.

"YOU CAN HAVE HER!" James yelled, pressing himself as far away as possible from the girl who now seemed to be infatuated with _him._

"Oh, don't be like that Jamesy, you would be a wonderful fiancé"

James froze, "That…. word."

Meowth shook his head, "You've got ta hang in there long enough to bribe dem Jimmy boy"

"Eeeeeee, I don't know about that Meowth" James said, pushing himself farther away from the girl as Temacu tried to hug James.

I expected the rest of the experience to be just as entertaining but surprisingly everything was over and resolved quickly.

Ash battled Team Rocket and sent them flying once again. Temacu was officially rescued and then fell in love with the doctor that treated her minor injuries from the incident. Her father explained they had just gone to a wedding and Temacu was absolutely obsessed with boys now. We left an hour later to go back to the Trainers Village for the Silver Conference.

"Well…. that was odd" I said, chuckling to myself; not sure what to make of what had happened that day.

"Yes, yes it was" Brock added, taking ahold of my hand.

* * *

That night I sat on the couch in our room in the Trainer's Village.

My day had already been quite entertaining and I sat with a smile on my face.

"So Ash, the Johto League starts tomorrow, what's on tab?"

I could tell Ash was elated that I had asked and turned to me with an excited look.

"Well, tomorrow is the screening rounds, I have to battle three trainers, one Pokémon each, and if I lose one match, I'm out."

My eyes widened, "Wow, that's a lot of pressure"

Ash nodded and I could tell behind his calm exterior he was a bundle of nerves.

"And you need to be getting some sleep if you plan on winning any of them" Misty said, walking into the room and pointing at Ash.

He nodded and went to bed, I figured I should do the same and walked into Brock and my bedroom. Misty and Ash shared, and Brock and I shared.

"Hey" he said, looking up from the book he was reading.

"Hey" I said with a smile and crawled in beside him.

"Listen, thanks for… you know, not flirting with Temacu" I said with a smile.

Brock chuckled, "I don't like girls that are that upfront anyway"

I laughed and wrapped my arms around him, resting my head on his chest.

"So you like your necklace?" he asked, taking note that I was still wearing it.

"I love it" I said, smiling.

"Good. Goodnight sweetheart, I love you" Brock said in a nervous voice.

I could tell he was comfortable with saying those things now, but he was always nervous I wasn't going to say it back.

"Goodnight Brock, I love you too"

I could feel him smiling and I nuzzled my head closer to his chest, his heartbeat lulling me to sleep.

* * *

**A/N: So yeah, I hope you enjoyed it! I'm not sure if I like how it turned out, but ohwell. Anyway, I am writing this to say don't forget to check out my poll! It would help me a lot to have you guys answer it! Anyway, have a great Monday, oh and thanks for the reviews, they always make my day! :)**


	44. Jealousy From A Different End

**Okay, so we are on to chapter 44. Weird title, I know but hopefully by the end of the chapter you will see how it all ties together. And I don't think I have anything else to say... that's odd.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy! :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 44: Jealousy From A Different End**_

"COME ON, WE ARE GOING TO BE LATE!"

That was what I woke up to the next day. Needless to say, I jumped a mile.

My limbs flew out in all directions and sheets were flying everywhere. I'm not exactly the most pleasant person to wake up, mostly because when I am awoken suddenly, I tend to flail, and usually anyone within a two foot radius will get smacked.

"Ow" I heard Brock groan. My eyes were open wide and I was quite awake now. I looked over to Brock, who was now holding his nose. I blushed when I realized I had hit him, in my fit of fear.

"Oh, sorry Brock" I said, slumping over, now feeling guilty.

"No, it's fine" he said quietly, still lightly rubbing his nose.

I leaned over and kissed it, and he grinned.

"COME ON!" I heard Ash yell again and this time Brock and I both jumped.

"GOOD ARCEUS ASH, CALM YOURSELF" Brock yelled, obviously unhappy at how this morning was starting off.

Ash flew in the room and grabbed my arm, dragging me out of bed and into the hall.

"Where are we going Ash?" I questioned.

"TO MY MATCH, IT STARTS IN LIKE TEN MINUTES AND I THINK THE ARENA IS ABOUT FIFTEEN MINUTES AWAY!"

I jerked my arm out of his grasp and sighed, "Just let me get dressed"

Brock was leaning against the doorway, yawning when I returned and I saw Misty stumble out of the bedroom across the hall, her eyes still drooping.

"What's happening, is the room on fire?" she asked groggily.

"No, we're just apparently late for Ash's match" I said, pulling on my vest.

"Oh" she said and rubbed her eyes.

"COME ON, YOU GUYS ARE _SO_ SLOW!" Ash yelled.

* * *

We were successfully at his match fifteen minutes later, which rendered us to be five minutes late, but the other challenger was late as well so they decided not to penalize anyone.

Ash easily won and they assigned him two battle fields and two time slots for his other two screening rounds.

We walked around and surveyed all of the vendors and battle fields at the Silver Conference. Everything was set up logically and was quite nice.

Ash easily won his next two rounds in the screening and so he was officially allowed to compete in the Johto League.

We were instructed to go into the Pokémon center and the next pairings would be shown on a large board there. Sure enough we found Ash's picture and his opponents for the semi-finals. He would be in a group of three, and he would battle each of the two trainers once. A win equaled three points; a loss would be zero, and one point for every draw. At the end the trainer with the most points would be considered the winner and move onto the finals.

"Are you excited Ash?" I questioned later that day, already knowing the answer.

"You bet!" he exclaimed.

Much to my approval Ash had called the Charicific Valley and Charizard was back to help him in the Silver Conference, along with Squirtle.

We all sat at a picnic table that afternoon. Ash was one of the first people done with the screening rounds and so we had the entire day to kill.

"Why don't you do some training Ash?" I questioned.

"YES! I will!" he said, standing up but gave me a sly grin.

"I want to battle you for my training"

I sighed, but figured it would be good for both of us so I nodded.

"Alright, this is a battle between Ash from Pallet Town and White from Unova. Each trainer will use one Pokémon and the first to knock out the other's Pokémon is the winner. Begin!" Brock called.

I thought for a moment and decided to go with a Pokémon I had actually never battled with.

"Litwick, I choose you!" I called. The small candle Pokémon appeared and at first looked confused, but soon began to smile and happily sing, letting me know it was elated to be in a battle. I felt Talace's ball move slightly and I looked down to my neck to see it was twitching. I chuckled; he hated it when I didn't use him.

"Okay, Squirtle, let's go!" Ash called.

I knew I had a disadvantage, but let Ash go first.

"Alright Squirtle, water gun!"

"Squirtle Squirt" the small turtle chirped and quickly sprayed a blast of water towards Litwick.

"Dodge and use Will-O-Wisp"

My small Pokémon barely got out of the way in time, but managed and formed a large crowd of floating blue flames.

"Lit-Litwick" it called, leaning forward and the blue flames flew towards Squirtle, hitting him head on.

Ash paused, as it looked like Squirtle hadn't taken any damage.

"A-alright then, water gun again!"

"Try and doge" I called, but the spray of water was too fast and it doused Litwick.

I could see it trembling and my heart sank. It was incredibly sad to watch the reaction fire Pokémon had to water attacks, because with Pokémon like Charmander or Litwick, if their flame was put out… well, they wouldn't exactly be alright.

"Are you alright Litwick?" I called and my small Pokémon nodded, getting its flame back to the normal size.

"Alright Squirtle"

"Squirt" Squirtle called, flinching and I grinned. The Will-O-Wisp had worked and Squirtle had been burned.

"Hydro-pump, you can do it!" Ash called.

My eyes widened, "Litwick you have to get out of the way!" I cried but I had a feeling it wasn't going to work.

Squirtle quickly withdrew into his shell and a blast of water larger than any I had ever seen emerged, flying towards Litwick.

I honestly didn't know what to do in that moment. I thought I was just about as experienced and powerful of a trainer as I could get, but in that moment, when I froze, I realized I still had a long way to go.

"No" I whispered as the hydro pump hit right on the mark. I squinched my eyes shut, not wanting to see the outcome. When everything quieted I peeked out to see Litwick, lying down, slightly twitching, trying to stand up. Its flame was barely flickering and I felt tears in my eyes. I couldn't lose a Pokémon, I just couldn't.

"Alright Squirtle, finish it with-"

"Stop!" I yelled, cutting off Ash mid-sentence.

He looked surprised but I shook my head, walking over and gently scooping up Litwick.

"That's enough Ash, you win" I said with a slight smile.

He looked confused and I realized he obviously didn't understand.

I sighed, "Litwick are like the Charmander line, if their flame goes out… so do they. It isn't worth it" I explained and Ash nodded.

I glanced down at Litwick who looked weak, but alright. It was looking at me carefully, seemingly confused as to why I had stopped the battle. I gently dried around its flame with my shirt and smiled as it got a little larger again.

"Are you alright?" I questioned.

"Lit-Litwick" it responded and I saw a smile spread across its face.

"Good" I cooed.

It smiled and my eyes widened as it suddenly flashed a bright white. Having it evolve was the absolute last thing I was expecting right then but I gently placed it on the ground, just in time for it to start to grow and morph. The light dimmed a second later and I beamed down at my new Pokémon… a Lampent.

"Great job" I said happily as Lampent floated up to my level and smiled.

"Oh wow, that's one cool looking Pokémon" Ash said, his mouth slightly open.

I grinned and returned Lampent, making a mental note to take it to the Pokémon Center later that day.

"That was an entertaining battle" I heard a voice behind us say. I turned around and saw an unfamiliar face walking towards us.

"Hi Harrison!" Ash exclaimed holding out his hand.

The boy who was apparently named Harrison shook Ash's hand once and smiled. I carefully looked him up and down. He was very tall and had short dirty blonde hair. He was wearing a red t-shirt and shorts, and carrying a backpack. He looked just like any other trainer.

"So I'm guessing you're from Unova" he said, turning his attention to me.

"Uh, yeah" I said, still confused as to who he was.

"Oh, Harrison meet White, White meet Harrison" Misty said quickly introducing us.

"It's nice to meet you White" the boy said, gently shaking my hand.

"Yeah, it's a pleasure" I said with a smile.

"We met Harrison when we arrived at the Silver Conference, he's from Hoenn and he helped us retrieve the torch that held the flame for the competition" Ash explained.

I nodded, finally knowing how they had met him.

Harrison joined us for dinner and we all talked. He was incredibly knowledgeable when it came to Pokémon and I enjoyed his company.

"Hey, my specialty is fire types as well, White" Harrison said with a grin.

"Really?" I asked. I had honestly never met anyone else who had a fire Pokémon obsession and I was elated to finally find someone else.

"Yeah, I could show you my Pokémon if you would like" he said with a smile and I vigorously nodded.

We both stood up from the table and began to walk out.

Brock caught my wrist as I was about to leave the room and smiled at me.

"Have fun" he said and shot a glance at Harrison before pulling me down to kiss him. I was surprised but smiled and returned the gesture.

I then followed Harrison outside and he turned back to me.

"I only have two fire Pokémon on me at the moment, basically because, you know I need to have variety for the competition" he said, fishing around in his bag.

"Oh so you're competing?"

He nodded and threw two pokeballs up into the air.

A Houndoom and a Blaziken appeared.

I had seen plenty of Houndoom during my time in Johto, but this was my first Blaziken sighting.

"Oh wow," I whispered, looking up at the extremely tall human-like Pokémon.

"He was my first" Harrison said, nodding towards Blaziken, "You can pet him if you would like"

I slowly walked towards it and the Blaziken leaned down so I could stroke his head.

I chuckled, "Wow"

That seemed to be the only word I could mutter. Starter Pokémon were always extremely powerful when they were fully evolved, and the large Pokémon simply took my breath away.

"How about you? What fire Pokémon do you have?" Harrison questioned.

"Oh, yeah. I actually only have two on me as well" I said with a smile, calling out Lampent and Talace, snapping his ball back in place after he was out.

"Huh, they are actually quite similar" I heard him say as I watched Lampent curiously float around Houndoom.

"How so?" I asked.

"Well, your Emboar is a starter and a Fire-Fighting type, just like Blaziken, and Houndoom is a Fire-Dark type and Lampent is a Fire-Ghost" he shrugged, "I consider dark and ghost types to be similar"

I nodded as I saw them that way as well. I patted Talace on the shoulder and went to sit by Harrison. We conversed for a while, watching our Pokémon socialize. Talace at one point tried to start a battle with Blaziken but I reprimanded him, and he calmed back down.

Harrison was a lot like me, and I found I had a wonderful time with him. After a while we realized it was getting awfully dark so we returned our Pokémon and stood up, brushing the grass off of ourselves.

"Well, that was fun White. It's always neat to meet another fire fanatic" he said with a smile and I nodded.

His face suddenly turned serious and I gave him a questioning glance. Before I knew it he had flown towards me and his lips were pressed against mine.

My eyes flew open wider than I thought humanly possible and my arms flailed to the sides, not knowing what to do.

"Hey!" I heard a somewhat angry voice say and suddenly something had shoved Harrison away from me.

I blinked rapidly and realized Brock had pushed him away.

"Hey, what was that fo-"

"Back off" Brock growled, cutting Harrison off, mid-sentence.

"Hey, you don't have the right to-"

"She's taken" Brock hissed, again cutting Harrison off, "Now, go away before I do something I regret" he snarled.

My eyes widened, Brock could be quite stern if he wanted to be. But I figured that came with having to raise about eleven children all on his own.

Harrison quickly nodded and jogged away.

Brock stood still, watching Harrison until he was out of sight. I glanced down and realized Brock's hands were in fists. Man, I guess N and I weren't the only ones who were the jealous types. Now I was _seriously_ dreading introducing them to each other.

Brock turned around to face me, still looking annoyed and I was suddenly worried he was mad at me as well. But within less than a second his face turned back to the caring expression it always had.

"Are you alright?" he asked, walking towards me and brushing his thumb across my cheek.

"Yeah, Brock, listen, I didn't-"

"I know, I saw it from the beginning" he said, cutting me off and I smiled.

"Sorry" I said quietly and he shook his head.

"It wasn't your fault, come on, we need to get some sleep" he said quietly, giving me a small kiss and grabbing ahold of my hand.

I snuggled down in bed next to Brock and he sighed in contentment.

"I hope Ash doesn't wake everyone up the way he did yesterday" I mumbled to myself.

Brock chuckled, "Me too" he said, rubbing his nose.

"Listen White, thanks for not…. you know…. kissing Harrison back" Brock said, and I could see a slight blush on his cheeks.

I smiled, "He's not my type"

Brock let out one loud laugh and stroked my hair.

"Goodnight sweetheart"

I smiled, again hoping Ash was a little calmer the next morning, "Goodnight Brock"

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Again, I am going to have almost a chapter every day this week because I am wanting to get to a certain point in the story by Friday. So sorry for the spam of chapters :P**

**Oh, and don't forget to check out my poll. Ferrishwheelshipping seems to be pulling away however.**

**Anyway, I hope you all have a great Tuesday! :)**


	45. The Silver Conference

**Anyway, this chapter is kinda blippy, but I think I like it. Also at one point in this one it kind of sounds like Misty likes Brock... she doesn't, it just for some reason sounds that way. Misty is routing for N as you know, so that is why she would be sad... that probably made no sense but it will after you read it haha. :)**

**Anwyay, I think that is all for this one. **

**So enjoy! :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 45: The Silver Conference**_

"Quilava is unable to battle, Ash and Totodile are the winners" the referee announced the next morning. The round-robin competition of the semi-finals had gotten underway just a few hours earlier but Ash had already participated in both of his matches. He breezed through the first. The second was a little bit tougher but with Totodile, Ash squeezed out another victory.

"Alright Ash!" Misty yelled, waving down at him from the stands.

He quickly made his way up to us and grinned. "Did you guys see that?"

Misty gave him a look, "Do you think we're blind?"

Ash smiled and scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

With Ash winning both of his matches he was guaranteed to move on. Now we just had to wait, and waiting wasn't something that Ash was very good at.

"Come on" he whispered as the pictures of the trainers who were moving on slowly appeared on the screen at the Pokémon center. Once every trainer was determined, it would be randomized and he would know his next opponent. Soon I heard a loud 'bing' and the screen went blank.

"And now, the pairings for the first round of the finals" Nurse Joy announced happily.

Another beep and the screen came back on, showing the trainers.

We all gasped.

"I-I'm paired with Gary" Ash whispered, sounding shocked.

"Well how about that Ashy boy, we were bound to have to battle some time or another" I heard the familiar voice of Gary Oak say from our right.

* * *

We were now in our room and I was quietly watching Ash pace about. He had almost worn a hole in the rug from walking back and forth for so long and I was almost mesmerized by his actions. He was extremely worried about battling Gary, and I couldn't exactly place why. Sure he was his rival, but Ash had plenty of those and hadn't seemed nervous before.

I was brought out of my thoughts by Misty's voice.

"You know, you actually haven't ever taken her on an official date" she said, pondering.

I had been sitting at the kitchen table with Misty and Brock for the past hour. We had been talking but I had apparently been distracted by Ash because the conversation was now on Brock and I; and when I had stopped listening we were talking about whether or not Ash would like pizza for dinner.

I looked to Brock and realized that the statement had really gotten on his nerves. The corner of his eye was twitching and his lips were pressed into a thin line.

Misty smiled, knowing she had annoyed Brock, "I'm just saying, I bet _N_ has taken her on a date"

I shook my head lightly. She was _really_ routing for N.

I could tell that was the last straw for Brock and he quickly stood up, slamming his hands down on the table.

"You know what? I'll take her on the best date she will ever be on, and that N guy will seem cheap in comparison" he growled, then storming out the door.

My eyes widened, "What have you guys been talking about?" I asked.

Misty shrugged, "Just how amazing N is"

I smiled, "You don't even know him"

She shrugged, "Yes, but I have good instincts, and so I know he's better."

I sighed and looked out the window, "So did you seriously just rope me into having a date with Brock?" I asked, starting to dread it.

Whenever N had set up my birthday party, which I considered somewhat like a date; I had had a good time, but in situations like that I was more uncomfortable than happy. It was awkward having someone fuss over me.

"Sure did. I'm interested in what he is going to come up with that will '_make N seem cheap in comparison'_" she said, lowering her voice to sound like Brock's at the end of the sentence.

I laughed, "I don't know"

* * *

Three hours later there was a knock on the door.

Misty lazily opened it and then burst out laughing.

"HEY!" I heard Brock's voice shout angrily.

"White, it's for you" she sang, still lightly giggling.

I yawned and walked to the door. It had been a long time since Brock had left and I figured he had given up on the idea of a date, but I was apparently wrong.

"Hey Br-" I was cut off by my own shock and my eyes flew wide open.

He was standing just outside the door, holding flowers and in a suit and top hat.

"Good lord Brock" I said with a smile.

He looked at me skeptically, trying to tell whether or not I liked it.

"So, uh, about that date" he said nervously.

I shook my head and snatched the hat off of his head, "I'll agree to go if you don't wear this god awful thing" I said, wondering where on earth he had found it in the first place.

He grinned, "Alright, here"

He handed me the flowers and I smiled.

Brock insisted that I wear a dress. The situation started to remind me of my birthday party thrown by N when Misty started throwing outfits at me and telling me to put them on. I finally settled on one that was a chocolate brown, matching my hair and went down to my knees.

I sighed, looking irritated. Couldn't Brock have just rented a movie or something, it would have been a lot easier.

"You, you look beautiful" Brock whispered when I walked out of the room. Needless to say I blushed; and the blush didn't wear off until the end of the night.

Brock had led me about a mile away to a small gazebo. Apparently he had rented it and it had a small table set up in the middle. As the sky grew dark, small lights wrapped around the gazebo turned on and bathed the whole area in a light glow. We both ate a delicious dinner, that of which Brock had actually cooked himself. It was elegant and romantic. Brock was quite the romantic himself, and I knew he really knew how to treat a girl well.

That night we talked about everything from siblings to favorite colors. In those few short hours I learned more about Brock than I could've ever imagined, and he learned a ton about me as well. After our long chat I felt like I had grown much closer to him and I was on an emotional high. The only thing in my world right then was Brock, absolutely no one else, just Brock.

After about two hours we returned back to the room. I was honestly having troubles staying awake but that all faded when we were met with an excited Misty, asking how it went.

Brock beamed as I expressed how truly wonderful everything was and I once again laughed and shook my head as Misty seemed irritated that it had gone well.

* * *

The next morning it was time for Ash's next match and he was still quite nervous. I had finally deduced that Ash believed he wasn't as good of a trainer as Gary was, and he was intimidated.

And so, after we had a little chat, Ash was feeling much more confident in his battling abilities.

Brock, Misty, and I made our way up into the stands once again. I had had the best night of sleep in a long time and I was extremely happy. I was also happy because Brock and I were once again in our little romantic bubble, and it seemed nothing could pop it.

He sat down and I sat in his lap. He wrapped his arms around me and I leaned back against his chest to watch the match.

I found I was almost as nervous as Ash had been before and poor Brock almost lost a few fingers because of my usual death grip on his hands. It was very evenly matched, and after what had to be one of the longest and most intense battles I had ever watched, they were both down to their last Pokémon.

Gary sent out a Blastoise and I heard Misty gasp.

"You-You don't think that's…" she trailed off and I felt Brock nod.

"The Squirtle Gary received from Professor Oak, yeah that's the one" he replied.

It was Charizard against Blastoise. The battle raged on for the next half an hour. Just when you thought one Pokémon was going to be knocked out, it would stand up again, digging deeper and deeper each time.

"Is, is it?" I questioned as Blastoise began to once again fall. And sure enough it was, Gary's Pokémon was down for the count and Ash had won the match.

"He, he won" Misty said in awe.

"I WON!" we heard Ash yell and I chuckled to myself.

* * *

Everyone gave Ash a congratulations and I could tell by the look on his face that he was on top of the world.

But that all seemed to end when we found out his next battle pairing.

"Harrison" he whispered, almost in disbelief as he looked up at the screen to once again see his picture paired with someone he already knew.


	46. Traveling

**So hello there and welcome to Chapter 46. This one is short! Again, I didn't know I was capable of making them short anymore. Anyway, tomorrow is the last day of the chapter a day thing, and you will see why. *rubs hands together* **

**Anyway, thank you all for sticking with me for this long, and for dealing with my chapter spam this week. Stunfisks for all of you!**

**Yup, I just gave you the most amazingly derpy pokemon. :) **

**Anyway, I think that is all I have to say. So enjoy! :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 46: Traveling**_

"It's alright Ash, that was one heck of a battle" Brock consoled Ash, patting his shoulder.

The battle Ash had had with Harrison was almost as intense as his one with Gary. It again came down to their last Pokémon and this time it was Charizard against Blaziken. Ash was thrown off by battling against a Pokémon he didn't know, and a strong one at that. And after a _two hour_ battle, he fell in defeat.

Harrison had encouraged Ash to go on to compete in the Hoenn league, which was where he was from and Ash had eagerly agreed.

However now we found ourselves back on a dirt road, walking across Johto on our way back to Kanto.

Ash wanted to visit his mother and Professor Oak, and I think we all were game for that before heading off to another region.

"So there isn't another quicker way?" Misty complained, overwhelmed by the task of walking all the way across Johto before we would reach the dock for the boat that would take us to Kanto.

"Nope, sorry Misty" Brock said, his nose in the guide book. He had informed us that it would take about two months to go back across Johto. I had to admit I was up for it, since I would get to see all of the things I had missed while I was in Unova. When I had told N of this two month absence I thought he was going to spontaneously combust. For about an hour he had tried to convince me to come back, but much to his disapproval it didn't work. By the end of our conversation N's eyes were getting blurry. I could tell that the invisible string holding our hearts together was shortening, and he was having a rough time having me out of his sight nowadays. He was just so worried I was going to be killed or injured in another freak accident.

It had eased his worry a little when I had gotten to get my boot off, and he was able to see that I was just fine. I had to admit I was even happier than N to have that thing off of my leg. I now wasn't weighed down, and I could move around with much more ease.

As much as I didn't want to admit it, traveling across Johto was amazing. Everything was so beautiful and part of me didn't ever want to go back to Unova. We had many big cities in Unova and in other regions everything was much more calm and peaceful. But still, nothing could compare to the scenery in Unova. Nothing even came close.

I had incredible adventures with my traveling companions when we were heading back to Kanto. The first month of trekking through the forest was a breeze and I again got to see many new Pokémon and people, and go through many different adventures.

Finally on the first week of the second month of traveling Misty shook me awake.

"White!" she squealed.

"What" I asked, rubbing my eyes and looking over to realize that Brock was no longer lying beside me.

"Come on, it's time for Girl's day"

I groaned but obliged to getting out of bed. Misty had informed me of a holiday called 'Girl's day'. We didn't have the holiday in Unova and when Misty had heard of this she had promptly decided that we would have the best girl's day ever. Apparently it was a day solely celebrating the presence of girls. There were huge sales and all females ate for free.

"I'm coming, I'm coming" I said in an irritated tone, stumbling out of the bedroom.

"So are you ready?" Brock asked. He was already dressed and looked ready to go.

"Uh, yeah I guess" I said, still hesitant about the whole situation.

I soon got into the spirit however when I actually entered a store. Absolutely everything was drastically reduced in price and even though I wasn't exactly one for shopping; I got caught up in the hubbub, especially when we hit the pokeball store.

Misty and I flew from store to store, shoving people out of the way, frantically grabbing things we probably didn't need, just to be part of the rush.

We ate lunch for free and had an endless stream of ice cream sundaes coming our way. Ash and Brock quietly followed us wherever we went, sitting on benches, carrying bags and boxes, basically whatever we asked of them.

"So that's what guys do on girl's day?" I asked, watching a husband carrying a stack of boxes taller than himself for his wife.

Misty nodded, "Yup, it's a day to celebrate women so the good guys help out. Most of them however just stay home and try to keep out of the way" she said with a smile.

I laughed and inspected an Ultra Ball.

After about five hours of shopping and an insane amount of money spent, I had finally worn myself out. Misty on the other hand was still game and was playing tug of war with a stranger for a tank top. I sighed and smiled, walking over to a bench where Brock and Ash were sitting.

"Why are we even here, it's so boring" Ash complained, "We could just leave, why do you keep wanting to stay?" he asked as I walked up to them.

Brock just shook his head and smiled up at me.

"Are you having fun sweetheart?"

I nodded, "I think I'm done though, this is actually really tiring" I said, setting down my bag and straddling his lap. He smiled and wrapped his arms around me.

"Thanks for following us around all day" I said while brushing my fingers across his cheek and quickly leaned forward to press my lips to his. I felt him smile as his lips moved slightly. I pulled him into a hug after a moment and he gently squeezed me.

"That's why Ash" he whispered and I grinned.


	47. Something I Tried to Avoid

**Okay, so now we are on to chapter 47. Finally, the last day of chapter spam. This week I have written and posted, five chapters for this story, two for my story with Ghetsis, and two for my collab with pokeninja6600 (check it out). *flops onto bed* I'm sleeeepy.**

**Why I say that is because the only time I really have to write is at night, and so I haven't been getting much sleep lately, haha. Anyway, something pretty major happens in this chapter... but I won't spoil it. mwahaha. But you will see why I wanted to get to this point in the story by the end of the week. **

**Anyway, thanks for all the reviews, they make my day.**

**And enjoy! :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 47: Something I Tried to Avoid**_

"So- so you're the other hero?" Misty asked, shock in her voice. We were currently on a small ferry taking us to an island on our way back to Kanto. We had been traveling through Johto for a month and a half now, and everything was beginning to feel routine.

A minute earlier I had asked Misty if she could go get me a pokeball out of my bag and she had come back holding the Dark Stone, looking confused. I had promptly freaked out, grabbing it out of her hands and holding it close to me, careful not to drop it.

After that I wasn't able to dodge telling her what it was. I had already explained about N and the two heroes months ago and she was waiting just like I was to find out who the other hero would be. And now she seemed just as surprised as I had been to find out the other hero was me.

"Yup, it's me" I said softly, running my hand across the Dark Stone.

I had to admit I was getting a little worried though. Zekrom hadn't made any attempt so far at awakening and I was starting to doubt that he was actually meant for me after all. I had expressed my concern over the phone to N and he had shaken his head, saying that it might take a while.

"Wow" Misty uttered, "That's kind of cool though" she said with a grin.

I nodded.

"You and N are paired together then…. how romantic" she said, clasping her hands together, her eyes sparkling.

I chuckled and put the stone back in my bag. I had decided to ignore all of Misty's odd comments about N and it seemed to be working well so far. Misty and I headed out onto the deck of the boat where Brock and Ash were standing.

"So where are we going again?" I questioned, leaning over the railing.

"Silver Rock Isle" Brock responded with a smile, "From there we will be able to island hop for a few days and then we will be back to traveling on regular land" he said, putting a hand on my back.

I nodded.

"Wait, isn't Silver Rock Isle the island that has that weird myth about a legendary Pokémon?" Ash questioned.

"Sure is" Brock replied, "We have a few days on it, maybe we could see if we could spot one"

My eyes widened with anticipation. Seeing a legendary Pokémon still got my adrenaline pumping, even if I had already captured one. I smiled and touched Thundurus' ball. Professor Oak had called the past day, again in a rainstorm and said that Thundurus was getting bored and had a lot of extra energy. So I had transferred Excadrill back and now had Thundurus' ball in my bag.

Within the next half an hour we made it to the island. It was incredibly beautiful with greenery as far as the eye could see. We walked for a few hours, not seeing anything too awfully exciting before we reached a small outing over the ocean.

"Hey look" Ash said, pointing out towards the sea. I squinted my eyes and realized there was a small boy with a Lanturn, happily swimming around in the bay.

We walked down to the edge and Ash called out to the boy.

"Hey, do you live here?"

The boy nodded, "Yeah, I live on the other side of the island"

I made a face. He looked a little young to live on his own. He was very small, probably eight years old and had short brown hair. Though Lanturns were known for having a caring instinct, so he was probably in good hands.

"Have you seen a legendary Pokémon around here?" Ash asked and I could tell he was just as excited about seeing it as I was.

The boy looked around nervously but shook his head, "Nope, haven't seen one"

Ash's shoulders slumped but he nodded and we began walking again.

"Something tells me he wasn't telling the truth" Misty whispered quietly, slipping a sleeping Togepi into her backpack.

We walked for another hour, inspecting the landscape. There were flowers I hadn't ever seen before on this island, along with an abundance of Pokémon; but no sign of any legendaries.

All of a sudden I heard a loud sound.

"What was that?" I questioned, my head snapping to the left, searching for what could've made the loud screeching noise.

"I don't know, let's go find out" Brock said and we all nodded. We jogged to the edge of the ocean again and I think all of our hearts almost stopped beating.

There was the same kid, now on his Lanturn which was swimming as fast as it could. But what was really surprising was what he was being chased by. It was a large black submarine, and it was gaining on him fast.

"What's happening?" Ash yelled out to the boy.

"They're trying to take Silver!" he shouted, tears in his eyes.

'Silver' I thought. I had no idea who Silver was but I got a clue when I saw the small Pokémon swimming after the boy.

"It's a Lugia" I whispered to myself. Lugia were incredibly rare and exclusive to the Johto region. I had truly thought I would die without seeing one but apparently I was wrong.

Just then a large metal cage snapped out of the water and encapsulated the small Lugia. It cried out, a distressed look on its face.

"Hahaha, I guess we succeeded after all" I heard a vaguely familiar voice say. I scrunched my eyebrows together trying to match the voice to a face but didn't succeed. I didn't need to think for long however when I saw two figures climbing on top of the submarine.

"Cassidy and Buzz!" Misty growled.

"The name's Butch!" the man yelled.

My eyes widened, he was the man from Team Rocket that had carried me into the cave after shooting Sigilyph and I down. I glared at him.

"Houndour, Smog" Cassidy called and her dog filled the air with a potent gas.

We all coughed and sputtered for a good five minutes until the smoke had cleared, and Team Rocket, the submarine, and the small Lugia had vanished.

"No! Silver!" the boy cried, tears streaming down his face. We led him back onto the land and he collapsed into a ball of tears.

The boy slowly explained all about the baby Lugia he had named Silver and its parent that lived by the island.

"What are we going to do, we can't just let them take it" Misty said, motioning out towards where the baby Lugia had been captured.

Ash shook his head, "But where do we start to look?"

Just then the ground started rumbling and a large figure came bursting out of the ocean, water spraying everywhere.

My mouth dropped open. I knew the other Lugia was a baby, but I honestly didn't know how big they got to be. Before me floated a fully grown Lugia and it was huge.

It screeched, a confused look on its face.

"I'm sorry, they got Silver" the boy sniffed.

"So that's its parent?" Brock questioned and the boy nodded.

I glanced back up at the parent Lugia and it seemed to be somewhere between confused and angry. The anger apparently won out though because its face soon turned dark and it frowned deeply.

It again screeched, louder than before and a red aura burst out from the Pokémon, almost creating a sound.

"What's it doing?" Ash questioned.

The plates on the Lugia's back flew out to stand up straight and I flinched.

"It's going into a blind rage" I whispered and indeed I was right.

The clouds overhead soon turned dark and the ocean started tossing and turning violently. The Lugia raised itself higher into the air as the storm of the century that was created by the large Pokémon began to wreak havoc.

"Come on, we better find someplace safe" Brock said and quickly turned around, placing a hand on my lower back to guide me.

I glanced over my shoulder, watching the legendary Pokémon fly around frantically, searching for its child. It was sad and I truly hoped it could find its baby.

We made our way up and into a cave. It was very high up and so we could see everything that was going on. Brock quickly made a fire but my eyes were still glued to the large white and blue creature that was now firing Hyper Beams at will, destroying land and boats alike.

"How do we calm it down?" Ash questioned, scooting over to sit by the edge of the cave as well, our feet dangling off the edge.

"Be careful" Brock warned. I looked down, it was a good forty foot drop if we fell, but we would be careful.

"I think the only way would be to find its child" I said quietly, watching another Hyper Beam slam into a cave a few hundred feet from ours.

"Please White, come back inside you're starting to worry me" Brock said and I obliged.

I sat against the wall, still watching the Lugia. It was getting closer. With every attack it fired it was getting more powerful. Its vision of reality was now almost gone and it was going to try and destroy anything in its path.

Another Hyper Beam was fired, this time only about a hundred feet away from our cave and the ground shook, small chucks of rock falling from the ceiling.

"We have to do something to get Silver back" Ash said quietly.

"Yes we do, and quick" Misty said softly.

A loud boom and this time the Hyper beam hit only about fifty feet away, sending rock flying and part of the cave crumbled off and down the cliff. My eyes widened and I scooted further back in the cave.

The attacks kept coming for the next ten minutes, all extremely close and sending large hunks of rock flying, some coming quite close to hitting us. We frantically tried to come up with some idea of how to stop its rage and calm it down but we simply couldn't think of anything. The storm had worsened and the rain was pouring down along with streaks of lightning every few seconds.

"We just have to find a way to get the baby Lugia back" Brock said, having to raise his voice over Lugia's screeches.

Just then I heard a slight sound and looked down to see N was calling. I groaned but picked it up.

"This really isn't the best time" I said with an apologetic smile before he had a chance to talk.

His happy face turned worried and he scooted closer to the camera, "What's going on there, are you alright?" he asked.

I nodded, "Yeah it's just-"

I was cut off as another Hyper Beam smashed into the rocks just a few feet away from the cave entrance and boulders went flying everywhere. We all ducked for cover and I glanced back down at the screen to see all the color had drained out of N's face.

"White, what was that?"

I sighed, "There is this rampaging Lugia that is infuriated because Team Rocket took its baby and I really don't think this is the best time to talk on the phone" I said quickly, the ground shaking from another Hyper Beam.

N was trembling and I gave him a worried look. Was he having a seizure?

"Just from what I can hear the Lugia screaming…" he started and swallowed, "It isn't going to let up anytime soon, it won't stop until everything is destroyed and it has found its child" he said quietly, still shaking.

I nodded, figuring that was what the Lugia was saying.

"I'm coming to Johto, White" he said in a determined tone.

"What?" I questioned loudly, my voice flying up a few octaves.

"I can't just sit here while you are in such danger. I am coming over there to protect you" he said, starting to stand up.

My eyes widened. I wasn't ready for N to meet Brock yet.

"No N, I'll be fine, I pro-"

"I'M COMING OVER THERE, WHITE" N said loudly, cutting me off.

I immediately silenced. N could command attention if he wanted to.

His face turned soft as he quickly picked up his X-transceiver and began walking.

"I'm sorry love. It's just that I can't stand to be away from you any longer, especially when you could be killed any minute" he said, his voice catching in his throat.

I paused but nodded, knowing I wouldn't be able to convince him otherwise.

"Reshiram and I will be there in a half an hour" he said softly.

I widened my eyes. It usually took Sigilyph and I a good five hours to make it to Johto. N realized what I was wondering and quickly spoke up.

"Reshiram is much faster than any regular Pokémon" he said with a smile.

I nodded.

I could hear Reshiram screech in the background as N called him out of his ball.

"Hang in there White, I love you darling" he cooed, climbing onto the large white dragon.

"I will, I love you too N" I said quietly and he hung up.

I sighed as the cave once again rumbled. I hadn't expected N to come over any time soon, or for him to meet Brock any time soon either.

But apparently in just a short half an hour, he would be here.

* * *

**A/N: So there it is! I hope you enjoyed it! Yup, they are finally going to meet in the next chapter. So I will have that up on either Monday or Tuesday. But you can now see why I decided to put up so many chapters to get up to this point by the end of the week. So review and tell me what you think! **

**Anyway, I hope you all have a lovely weekend! :)**


	48. The Meeting

**Okey doke, so chapter 48! They finally meet! Took me long enough. When I started this story I thought I would barely be able to write twenty chapters... welp, I guess I'm not too good at estimating, haha. **

**So yeah, I think I like this. I didn't want to make them freak out ****_too_**** much, so yeah.**

**I think that is all. OH, I am contemplating writing a Ferriswheelshipping one-shot for Christmas... but I don't know. meh**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy! :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 48: The Meeting**_

I hadn't realized exactly how much I missed N until I saw the small white dot that was Reshiram in the distance. My heart started beating faster and my stomach began doing backflips. I hadn't seen N in over a month and a half and even before that I was only able to see him for a few days.

I stood up, my eyes still glued to the white dot that was steadily getting larger. About five minutes earlier Lugia had disappeared from sight. We still felt the rumbles however and figured it was searching and destroying the other side of the island now. The storm hadn't stopped; if anything it had actually gotten worse and I found myself worrying about N and Reshiram flying in the storm.

Brock, Misty, and Ash stood up as well. I knew both Brock and Misty were incredibly nervous about meeting N, but it appeared they were also a tad excited. Ash was excited as well, though he just wanted to meet N because he could talk to Pokémon, not because of his connection to me.

I soon saw green beside the white dot and I smiled lightly as I realized N was leaning to the side, ready to jump off at the first possible instance. And indeed he did; as soon as Reshiram was close enough to the cave, N shoved off of the white dragon and landed with a loud thump.

I felt myself quickly walk towards him, my arms outstretched.

"White" he sighed as his arms crushed me in a hug. I was hugging back just as tightly this time and I honestly didn't ever want to let go. N pulled back a few seconds later and bent down a little.

"Are you alright love?" he asked, his eyes sweeping me up and down, making sure I was still in on piece.

"Yeah" I answered with a smile, my mind completely on N and I had lost track of the current situation.

N's eyes sparkled as I told him I was fine and before I knew it his lips were pressed against mine. I melted into him and quickly wrapped my arms around his neck, returning his affectionate gesture.

I was pulled back to reality however when I heard the loud sound of Brock clearing his throat.

My eyes flew open and I quickly pulled away from the kiss.

I whirled around and gave Brock an apologetic look. I started breathing faster however when I realized that N was actually here, with Brock, and they were going to meet for the first time.

"Well I see Lugia has decided to search the Northern side then" N said as Reshiram somehow managed to cram himself into mouth of the cave.

I smiled at the legendary Pokémon and lightly stroked his head before N returned him to his ball.

"Yeah, he left about ten minutes ago" I informed him.

"Well I think it best for us to wait here until he comes back before we try anything to calm him down." N said, now looking over to my other traveling companions.

"In the meantime White, how about I meet your friends" he said with a smile and I nodded hesitantly.

"I'm Misty!" Misty exclaimed as N and I walked over to our small campsite.

"It's a pleasure" N said, bowing slightly. I saw a blush on her cheeks and chuckled to myself. N was a gentleman through and through. 'I wonder if Ghetsis taught him that' I thought to myself, wondering where N had gotten it from. But he _was_ a king so it would be understandable for him to act that way.

"This is Ash" I said, motioning over to Ash who was staring, wide eyed at N.

"Hello Ash, how is that Charizard of yours doing?" N questioned with a smile.

Ash grinned as well, "Much better thanks"

"And this is….. Brock" I said awkwardly, motioning over to where Brock was standing rigidly.

"Hello, I don't believe we have met before" N said, holding out his hand to Brock.

It was true. Misty and Ash had gotten to meet N over the phone; I had skillfully avoided having him talk to Brock however. I then was tapped into the knowledge that N didn't know about Brock. I gulped, that was going to be hard to bring up. I mean, what should I say?

Brock took N's hand and shook it roughly.

"I believe you are the one who gave her that necklace" N said with a smile, "You are quite the gift giver."

I almost slammed my head against the wall. Why didn't I just tell N right away? He had no clue and now it was going to be so difficult.

Brock nodded, "Yes, and you appear to be quite talented at giving gifts as well" he said, motioning to my ring.

N grinned, "I'm glad you think so."

There was an awkward silence that lasted probably only about ten seconds, but to me it lasted hours.

"Well, I think we should start discussing strategies for the task at hand" N said, and we all nodded, sitting down around the small campfire.

N was on my left, Brock on my right and I could just feel the tension.

I glanced over at Brock, trying to read his expression but he kept his face emotionless, eyes glued to N.

"Well, we need to find the baby Lugia." Misty started, trying to get the conversational ball rolling.

"That _does_ seem to be the only thing that will calm the parent Lugia down." N said quietly, scratching his chin.

"But we don't know where Team Rocket took it" Ash added.

"I bet they're still around here though" Brock piped up.

We all turned to him and he continued, "Wouldn't you think that if they saw a full grown Lugia around, they would stay around to capture it?" he asked.

We all nodded.

"Yes, that does seem logical. Though I don't understand why they would want it…" N said, pondering.

"To destroy things and stuff" Ash said.

I chuckled but looked over to see N was frowning.

"That seems so cruel."

'Oh boy' I thought, 'let's not get into the whole liberating Pokémon thing now N'.

"Anyway," Brock started, giving N an odd look, "if it _is_ still around here, where could it be?"

We all mulled over Brock's question.

Another louder rumble shook the ground and I could tell Lugia was slowly making his way back around to us.

"Well, I suggest before we do anything that we calm down the parent Lugia. Since it is in a blind rage it is going to cause more harm than help and if Team Rocket comes up with a plan to capture it as well, it will probably fall for it because it isn't thinking clearly." N said, glancing out of the cave.

"And how are we supposed to do that?" Brock asked, an irritated tone in his voice.

I shot him a look and his lips twitched into a smile.

N paused and Ash spoke up.

"Ooh! You could go and talk some sense into it!" Ash said, leaning forward towards N.

N grinned, "I guess it's worth a shot. What do you think love?" he asked, turning to me. I realized I hadn't spoken up at all throughout the whole ordeal and nodded, letting him know I thought it was worth a try.

N beamed and leaned towards me for another kiss.

"ANYWay…" Brock started loudly, causing me to jump and quickly look over to him, which in turn caused N's lips to collide with my cheek instead.

"So, N. Why are you here again?" Brock asked and I rolled my eyes.

N sat up straight again and smiled.

"I am here to help all of you. But mostly I am here to make sure my dear White is just fine." he said, brushing a finger across my cheek. I leaned into his hand and he smiled.

I heard Misty's squeal and looked over to see she was having the time of her life watching us. Brock on the other hand made a slight gagging noise and I couldn't refrain from giggling.

For the next half an hour we all conversed. The Lugia still stayed on the other side of the island and so we decided to make the best of the time while we were waiting. N was barraged with questions and looked to be almost enjoying himself; which was odd.

After a while it almost felt comfortable to have both Brock and N in the same room; _almost_ being the key word.

"White" Brock whispered soon, as N explained Team Plasma's motives to Misty, who was wide eyed and eager to listen.

"Hm?" I questioned, turning to him.

"Is he really the guy you have been talking about?" he asked, obviously skeptical of whether or not this was truly N.

I chuckled, "Yes, Brock."

Brock sighed, "You still like me don't you?" he asked, a hint of pleading in his voice.

I knew that since I could now have Brock and N side by side for a true comparison Brock was worried my feelings for him would melt away. I had wondered if I would suddenly be able to choose which one I liked better when they were in the same room, I had actually hoped I could. But I wasn't able to, and still felt love for both of them.

"Of course I do." I said softly, cradling his face in my hands. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine. I slightly smiled and kissed him back until I realized that all of the talking had ceased and I felt eyes on me.

I pulled back and swallowed, realizing this was the first time N had seen something like that. I glanced over to him and saw many different emotions running across his face.

"White" N said slowly, confusion now etched on his features, "What was that?" he questioned and I realized he was truly asking.

"I-uh, um, uh" I stuttered, not knowing what to say and finally resorted to going quiet and looking down at my lap.

There was a pause before N spoke up again.

"Why did you kiss her?" N asked Brock, his voice raised and angry as he stood up.

My head snapped up to look at N. I had only seen him angry once before, and I was brought back to how he looked when he was mad. He commanded attention like no other, but then again, it almost looked surreal for him to have such a strong emotion on his normally cheery face.

"Because I love her" Brock snarled, also standing up.

My gaze snapped back to N, wondering how he would react. He began lightly shaking and before I knew it he had made his way over to Brock in less than two strides. He grabbed Brock's collar and lifted him off of the ground, slamming him against the wall.

"You stay away from her" he growled, his grey green eyes now tinted with fury.

My eyes widened and I quickly scrambled to my feet. No, this wasn't how it was supposed to go.

I was about to tell N to set him down but Brock enforced it for me.

He shoved against N's chest hard enough that he stumbled back, letting go of Brock to catch his balance.

"Don't tell me what to do" Brock hissed.

No this was definitely not how I had pictured it in my mind.

N growled and again advanced towards Brock, his hands balled into fists. I quickly dashed in between them and put a hand on both of their chests, just like I did when Talace and N fought.

"Please stop" I begged quietly and N's hands unclenched. I gave Brock a look before turning to address N.

My heart cracked to see the emotion on his face was now hurt and not anger.

"Wait, you don't-" he started, his voice cracking and his eyes becoming blurry, "You don't actually love him back do you?" he questioned, his eyes flicking back and forth to both of mine, searching for answers.

I paused but then looked at the ground, guilt coursing through me.

"No" N whispered and I quickly looked back to him.

"So you don't-" he started, his chin beginning to quiver, "You don't love _me_ anymore?" he asked.

My eyes widened and I vigorously shook my head. It for some reason hadn't even crossed my mind that N would think just because I cared about Brock I didn't care about him anymore.

"No" I said quickly, gently grabbing onto his face, "Of course I still love you!"

N's expression lightened a bit and he gave me a confused look. He obviously didn't understand that I loved both of them at the same time. I sighed and walked over to sit down by the fire again.

"Remember when you told me you were the King of Team Plasma and I got really angry?" I asked as N and Brock made their way back to the fire as well. I was very glad that Brock was staying quiet now, because I really had some explaining to do.

N nodded, "Yeah, what about it?"

"Well" I said with a sigh, "That was the first time I went to Kanto and I met these three" I explained, motioning to Misty, Ash and Brock.

"I was really mad at you then N. And in that time I didn't care about you and that was when I started realizing I had feelings for Brock." I said, glancing over to see N was carefully watching me.

N gave me another confused look and I sighed.

"Well N, long story short, I fell in love with him after that and so now I am in love with both him and you." I stopped, hoping it would finally make sense and it appeared it had.

N nodded to himself, looking like he was thinking deeply.

"So you love both of us?" he asked and I nodded.

N again looked deep in thought.

"And at some point you are going to choose between us?" he asked, motioning over to Brock and then himself.

I nodded and watched as N slowly rubbed his chin. It was an agonizing few minutes before N spoke up again, but much to my surprise his question was directed at Brock.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Brock looked just about as surprised as I was at first but nodded.

We all stayed still.

"In private" N added and my eyes widened.

Brock nodded and they both began to stand up.

"Hey, hey, hey" I said quickly, worried for their health.

"Don't worry White, it's just to talk" N said with a smile before walking to the mouth of the cave with Brock in tow. I watched as they both climbed down with ease and soon they were out of sight.

I started biting my nails. What were they talking about? No doubt it was about me, but what exactly?

Misty and Ash talked a little about N. Misty tried to start a conversation with me but realized I was wracking my brain and so decided to try again later.

Finally after ten minutes I decided that they were probably making a pact to make me choose on the spot. I froze; I had no idea which one I would pick. There was just no way I was going to be able to choose. I finally decided that I would say neither, and I would go back to leading a life without either of them, though just the thought made me incredibly depressed. Before I had fully sorted out what I was going to say, Brock and N were climbing back into the cave. They sat on either side of me again, a small smile on their faces.

I looked back and forth to both of them frantically, waiting for them to say something, but they stayed quiet.

"WELL?" I half yelled, my nerves beginning to fray.

They both looked at me with puzzled expressions and I covered my face with my hands.

"What did you guys talk about?" I asked, my fingers muffling my voice.

"Oh, not too much, just some stuff about you." Brock said calmly.

I lifted my head and gave him a look, "Well I figured that much, I mean what did you guys apparently agree on?" I asked, again noting that they both were smiling.

"Oh not much-" Brock started again but was interrupted by N.

"May the best man win." he said with a wink.

I let out a sigh that I had apparently been holding in for a long time. They weren't going to make me chose, and I was extremely relieved. However an odd look creeped onto my face at N's remark.

"Like, me?" I asked, wondering what the apparent prize was.

Brock and N both laughed, "Yes"

I widened my eyes. So they had agreed that the better person would win in the end when I chose?

I smacked myself and everyone gave me weird looks. I seriously had to be in a dream. There was no way they could agree to something so…. non-violent and tame.

But I wasn't sleeping and so a large smile spread across my face.

"Thank you!" I exclaimed, giving both Brock and N a kiss on the cheek.

Almost like clockwork we then heard the loud screech of Lugia. A deafening boom rang throughout the cave and I could tell a Hyper Beam had hit close to us. Sure enough Lugia came into sight within the minute and I watched as N stood up.

"Alright, here goes nothing" he said with a grin as he pulled out Reshiram's ball to let him out.

The large white dragon appeared and clutched onto the cave floor, bending his head down and lowering his wing so N could climb on.

I felt the excited jitters that I always felt when an adventure was on the horizon and I realized I couldn't let N go out and have all the fun on his own.

"I'm coming with you" I said, standing up and smiling.

N frowned, "Stay here, I don't want you to get hurt."

I shook my head, "I'll be fine."

I saw N glance over at Brock and I could almost hear him thinking that he didn't want me alone with Brock anyway.

"Alright" N sighed, holding out his hand, ready to help me onto Reshiram.

I shook my head, "I've got my own." I grinned.

I pulled out Thundurus' ball and called him out. I figured since Thundurus was basically a living storm that he wouldn't have any troubles maneuvering, plus he was strong enough to fly with me on him as well.

N gave me a stern look but nodded.

Thundurus let out a loud boom of his own thunder, obviously happy he was getting some exercise.

I hopped onto the small cloud that was Thundurus' base and wrapped one arm around his shoulders for support. N climbed on Reshiram's back and then turned to me.

"You ready?" he asked, looking both concerned and excited.

"You bet" I said as Reshiram began flapping his giant wings, lifting him off of the ground and out into the sky.

"Follow him Thundurus" I said and my Pokémon growled in recognition before also flying out into the storm.

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**A/N: Well there it is! Next chapter should be up tomorrow! I hope you enjoyed, and thanks for the reviews, they always make my day a bit brighter! :)**


	49. Searching

**Okay, Chapter 49 now. Dang we are almost to fifty. Oh, this chapter has a little intro thingy, again that's why the chapter title isn't right below this. It is sorta on Brock this time, which is a bit different since all of my intros have usually been about N or Ghetsis. So we'll see how that goes.**

**I am actually in Lego-Land currently; tuning into my inner four year old. Just got out of the aquarium, *shivers* and I was once again reminded of exactly how much of a phobia I have of sharks. Sad but true.**

**Anywho, enough rambling about my odd life, haha. Enjoy! :)**

* * *

Brock watched intently as both White and N disappeared into the distance, and his heart dropped. So much had happened in the past hour that he didn't exactly know what to feel but sadness seemed to be the emotion taking the spotlight.

N wasn't what Brock had expected. He had expected someone like himself, but instead he saw a tall and handsome young man, a couple of years older than White and himself. He looked down at his feet and sighed. Did he really stand a chance against that?

His eyes flicked back to the cave entrance. They were perfect together, both flying fearlessly out into the storm on legendary Pokémon. Brock didn't have any Pokémon that were too awfully rare, and he definitely wouldn't have been fearless, even though he would've put on a brave face.

Not only that but N could talk to Pokémon. He knew how much White loved Pokémon, even more than humans and the fact that N could speak with them gave him a definite edge.

Brock was snapped out of his wallowing as Misty spoke up.

"Huh, so those are the two heroes then."

Brock glanced up to see Misty looking outside with admiration in her eyes.

"What did you say?" Brock questioned, confused by her statement.

Misty glimpsed over at him, "I said, so those are the two heroes then."

"What do you mean?" Brock asked.

Misty rolled her eyes, "You know, N is the hero with Reshiram and White is supposedly the other one with the other dragon."

Brock was taken aback. He hadn't known this information before. White was the other hero?

He waited for the sadness to creep up on him again. They were the two heroes, they were even paired together. But the emotion he felt instead was excitement and happiness.

White was the other hero, which meant she was the one who ultimately opposed N. She was the one who had a strong differing opinion. She was the one who would battle _against_ N in the end.

White had explained the whole hero thing to Brock a long time ago and he had been utterly fascinated. However he hadn't ever expected White to be the other hero. Although it made sense. He didn't know anyone more determined, anyone who worked with Pokémon as well, or anyone as strong and stubborn as her. Brock smiled.

If they were rivals, they couldn't love each other, it wouldn't be possible. Maybe they could now; but when they were having their battle, the two dragons by their sides, it would be impossible for them to love each other. They were enemies, fighting for a different cause, and in the end one would win and the other would lose. A relationship couldn't withstand that, or that's what Brock believed anyway.

He sighed in contentment. He did still have a chance then. They were the two heroes. That fact, that neither N nor White could control was the very thing that would pull them apart.

At least that's what Brock believed.

* * *

_**Chapter 49: Searching**_

I took a deep breath and squinted, trying to see through the rain. The excited butterflies that always appeared in my stomach when I was on an adventure hadn't let up yet, and weren't showing signs of going away anytime soon either. A gust of wind hit Thundurus and I and I quickly clutched onto his shoulders tighter.

I glanced over at N whose gaze was flipping from Lugia to me, then Lugia, then me. He was incredibly worried and I could tell. Maybe I should've been on Reshiram with him, he would've been calmer.

I was snapped out of my thoughts as I heard Lugia screech again, and I could tell it finally had spotted us. N's attention was now on the Lugia.

"Lugia, you need to calm down" N shouted.

I waited a moment, watching its expression before I had to cover my ears due to another deafening screech.

"I know you want to find your child, but you must calm down. We are here to help you!" N yelled.

The Lugia froze and I could tell I was wondering why N had answered what it had said perfectly. Its face soon turned angry again and it roared, its mouth opening for another Hyper Beam. My eyes widened. I had never seen such a beautiful creature up close, and now with it about to fire an attack, it was breathtakingly powerful as well.

They Hyper Beam was directed at N and Reshiram but the large dragon whizzed out of the way with ease. The beam of light flew past them to smash into the land. The Lugia then spotted me and turned its head quickly, the beam of light sweeping towards Thundurus and I. My eyes widened.

"Oh, Thundurus, get out of the way!" I cried and my Pokémon quickly started to move away. I could tell the Lugia was incredibly upset by this and continued trying to hit us.

I began to panic. There was no way Thundurus could keep dodging these, sooner or later we were going to get hit. I gulped.

"Reshiram, Imprison" I heard N yell loudly, with a bit of panic in his voice.

Lugia's attack immediately stopped and it looked a bit confused. He continued opening his mouth, but nothing came out.

I saw N and Reshiram out of the corner of my eye coming towards us. N stopped a few feet away, a look of extreme worry on his face.

"Please White; please come on Reshiram with me. I am so worried." he confessed. I had to agree that it probably wasn't the best idea for me to be on Thundurus. He could barely hold my weight, let alone move at the speed he needed.

I nodded and I could almost hear N sigh in relief. He held out his hand and I took it. He quickly jerked me in front of him onto Reshiram and wrapped both arms around me tightly.

I returned Thundurus and N lightly kissed my neck.

"Alright" he whispered, again sitting up straight, bringing one arm down to grasp onto Reshiram while keeping the other clamped around me.

"Listen to me Lugia. We will find your child, I promise. You just have to calm down."

The Lugia screeched, again trying to fire a Hyper Beam but not able to because of N's Imprison attack.

"I give you my word Lugia" N said in a determined tone.

The Lugia looked at N with an intense expression, obviously confused by this boy that seemed to understand it. N and the Lugia had a stare off for a good ten minutes before the giant Pokémon lightly nodded, diving back into the ocean and out of sight.

Immediately the sky cleared up and the water became calm once again. I felt N sigh and he leaned his forehead against my shoulder.

"You had me so worried" he whispered.

I gently patted his arm that was wrapped around me but frowned. N was so protective, and that was sweet, but it also worried me. I was the other hero; he had to realize I could take care of myself.

I gently turned around on Reshiram so I was facing N.

"N" I said quietly, lifting up his head so he was looking at me. He immediately brought his lips to mine and I sighed, pushing him back.

He looked confused but I shook my head.

"N, you don't need to be so concerned all the time" I said with a slight smile, "I can take care of myself"

He nodded, "I know, I just can't help it; thinking that you might get hurt, especially while I was right there…" he trailed off and I sighed.

N knew how to pull at my heartstrings. I pulled him into a hug and rested my head on his chest. He sighed in contentment and rubbed my back.

"You know we don't have to go back to that cave. We could just head on back to Unova now," N said and I could hear the smile in his voice.

I rolled my eyes and pulled back.

"Come on, you made a promise to Lugia" I said, turning back around on Reshiram. N sighed and lightly patted the white dragon, letting him know to go back to the cave. N once again had me in a death grip, apparently afraid I was going to fall off. Reshiram gently landed in the cave, again having a bit of troubles fitting inside.

All three of my traveling companions quickly walked up to us, obviously wondering how it had gone.

"Well, I convinced Lugia to let us help it, and we now just have to find the baby" N said, slipping off of Reshiram.

Brock walked over to the legendary dragon's side and held his arms out to help me down. N glared at him and did the same. Brock elbowed N, and N elbowed him back. They pushed each other, struggling for a few seconds before I shook my head and spoke up.

"Both of you, watch out" I said, both Brock and N looked confused but backed up.

I slid off of Reshiram with ease and gave a proud smile.

* * *

For the next few hours we searched the entire island for the baby Lugia. It was absolutely nowhere to be found and I had to admit I was starting to lose hope, that was until Brock spoke up.

"Wait, don't you think it's weird that we can't hear the baby Lugia crying and neither can its parent?"

We all paused and mulled over his question.

"Yes…" N began, scanning the surrounding area, "I can't hear it crying either."

"_We get it_, you can talk to Pokémon" Brock said in an irritated voice.

I chuckled to myself but N looked peeved.

"That would suggest it is in a place that is soundproof. And as I don't see any place on land that would be such, I suggest they are underwater" N said, grinning, proud of his idea.

We all nodded, it did make sense.

"Alright then, let's send our water Pokémon to check it out." Ash said, pulling out a pokeball.

"Totodile, let's go" he called.

"You too, Staryu, Goldeen, Poliwhirl, and Corsola." Misty called.

Brock and I stayed quiet as we didn't have any water Pokémon but much to my surprise N calmly pulled out a pokeball of his own.

"Carracosta, come out my friend" he called and I swore my eyes couldn't have gotten any larger.

The large turtle like Pokémon appeared in the water and I gaped. Not only did I not know N had any Pokémon other than Zoroark and Reshiram, but I didn't know he had a Pokémon that was supposedly extinct.

"Go and try to find a baby Lugia underwater" N commanded and the large blue turtle nodded, disappearing under the water. Ash and Misty's Pokémon disappeared as well and we were left in silence.

"I didn't know you had a Carracosta N" I said, still in a bit of shock.

"Mhm, I have to create a team of my own after all" N said, leaning down and giving me a peck on the cheek.

"Gross" Brock said quietly and I shook my head.

A few minutes later the Pokémon reappeared and N leaned down to talk to Carracosta.

The turtle talked for a while, N nodding before he appeared to be done.

"Alright. He says that there is some sort of underwater building, and that could possibly be where they are keeping it" N said with a nod.

They all returned their Pokémon and we contemplated what to do next, however we didn't have to think for long because a loud sound pulled us all back out of our thoughts.

My head snapped over to just about twenty feet in front of us, where a gigantic black figure was slowly emerging out of the water. It halted in a few moments and everything was quiet.

"What- What is that?" I questioned.

Before anyone had time to respond a small door opened on the gigantic black dome and revealed the small Lugia in a cage.

I was lost for words. We were just about to go search for it, and it was literally brought to us. A mechanical arm lifted up the cage and set it on the land, only about ten feet in front of us. The arm withdrew back into the black object and everything was quiet.

The small Lugia was desperately crying, looking distressed. I didn't blame it, if Team Rocket had taken me and put me in a cage, (which they sort of had) I wouldn't be too happy either.

The parent Lugia burst out of the water, just a few seconds later and quickly flew towards the cage, a look of pure relief on its face.

"No Lugia, it's a trap, they are trying to catch you too!" Brock yelled.

I had made that connection just a few seconds earlier and my heart sank at the sight in front of me. The parent so happy to see its child, and it would be short lived.

Sure enough as soon as the parent Lugia landed on the cage a large electrical current zapped it and encased it in a mysterious sphere. The large Lugia froze, its eyes darting around, confused by the almost invisible barrier around it. It shoved its head into the wall and upon realizing it was trapped, began to freak out. It slammed its head, wings, and legs against the barrier encasing it, but it didn't budge.

"That's awful!" N shouted, his hands in fists.

We all began to run towards the two Lugia, about to help free them when none other but Cassidy and Buch, I mean Butch, quickly slid in front of us.

"You're not going anywhere" Cassidy said with a smirk as we helplessly watched the mechanical arm snatch both Lugia and pull them back into the black dome.

Cassidy and Butch called out their Houndour and Hitmontop and Ash braced himself.

"Pikachu, are you ready?" he asked, and the small electric Pokémon nodded, hopping off of his shoulder, his cheeks crackling with electricity.

"Wait, what are those things on their heads?" I asked, pointing to the Houndour. There were small metal headbands on the Pokémon, a glowing orb in the middle.

"Well that is a handy little invention Professor Nanba created. It uses the power of rage to make Pokémon even stronger" Cassidy said with a sneer.

"And we are going to give you a private little demonstration" Butch said, grinning.

The two Team Rocket members proceeded to battle with Ash, although it didn't take long for him to be defeated. Pikachu went skidding back on the ground, flinching in pain.

"Nothing is more powerful than a Pokémon with one of these handy little things on it" Cassidy said, pointing to the metal machine on each of the Pokémon.

"But I suppose you've seen too much now, we will have to find some way to deal with you" Butch said, mock-thinking.

"Houndour, Flamethrower" Cassidy called.

"Hitmontop, rolling kick" Butch called as well.

The two attacks collided with all five of us, sending us flying backwards.

And that was when I blacked out.

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**A/N: Ooh, cliffhanger. *suspense* haha. Anyway, next chapter should be on Saturday, which is odd because I ****_never_**** update on weekends, but I figured I could break tradition. Also, I am still contemplating writing a one-shot Ferriswheelshipping Christmas thingy. So if you would read that, go ahead and shoot me a PM or a review letting me know.**

**Anywho, thanks for the reviews, you all are amazing! :)**


	50. The Rescue

**Holy Moly you guys, chapter 50. We are finally here. Again, thanks to those of you who are sticking with me, I would like to personally give all of you an internet high-five. Did you get it? Yes, yes you did. **

**Anyway. I have had the meh's lately; aka I have not been motivated to write, and so I honestly don't have anything past this chapter written yet. BUT, I am going to buckle down and write like a mad woman to get this story finished soon. I was hoping to finish it before Christmas... but yeah, that's not going to happen, haha.**

**Anyway, sorry for the rambling, and I hope you all enjoy! :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 50: The Rescue**_

I slowly blinked my eyes, my vision beginning to focus. Where was I? What had happened? My brain slowly began thinking and after a few seconds my eyes snapped wide open, remembering the events of the past day.

I jerked myself to a sitting position and flinched at the pain in my head. I really had hit the ground hard when I fell. My eyes darted around. Beside me were Misty, Ash, Brock, and N, all now groaning and blinking rapidly as well.

I looked around us and realized we were in some sort of cage.

"Are you alright sweetheart?" Brock asked, taking one of my hands in his.

I nodded and watched as all of my traveling companions sat up, now looking as panicked as I felt.

"White" I heard N ask from my right. I turned and watched him glance around, his face full of confusion.

"Where are we?" he asked, pushing off of the ground and to his feet.

I sighed and stood up as well, Brock, Misty, and Ash following our lead. I clasped my hands around the bars in front of us.

"I don't know N. But ten to one it's probably Team Rocket's base."

N nodded and I could tell that had been his suspicion as well. He opened his mouth to say something but was cut off as the door to the room flung open to reveal a man. He had pinkish hair and looked to be in his sixties. He wore a white lab coat and had a look of insanity in his eyes.

"So, you are the ones who got a private demonstration of my brilliant new device" he said, walking over to us with his hands behind his back.

"That thing that was on the Pokémon?" Misty asked.

He nodded. "Yes, it is quite an invention if I do say so myself. Harnessing the Pokémon's rage to make it even more powerful, a genius idea."

"That's cruel; you can't just manipulate a Pokémon's feelings!" Misty yelled.

"Ha! Why not? After all they are just tools to be used by humans"

I saw something moving out of the corner of my eye and turned my head to N. He was lightly shaking, his hands clenched into fists, and a look of somewhere between sadness and anger on his face. I knew that all he believed about trainers; how cruel they were to Pokémon, was what this man was preaching. And it was hitting all too close to home for N.

I gently unclenched one of his hands and intertwined my fingers with his. He clutched onto my hand and I suddenly got an idea of what Brock felt like when I crushed his fingers.

"No they're not! They are our friends and partners!" Ash yelled.

"Ha! Pokémon are meant for nothing more than serving humans. And so with this device I shall show you what the power of rage can do to make them even more valuable tools!" the man screeched, pulling out some sort of remote control.

"No you d-" Ash stopped short, his hand frantically prying at his belt that usually held his pokeballs.

"They took our Pokémon!" Ash yelled, anger now on his features as well.

I again looked to N. He was shaking more violently now, especially after what the man had said about Pokémon serving humans and I started to fear for his health. I knew N was about to snap, and nothing good would come of that. I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself.

I quickly grabbed onto N's face and forced him to look at me.

"N, sweetie, everything's fine" I cooed, forcing a smile.

His eyes were still glued to the man and his breathing was becoming ragged.

"N, look at me" I demanded and his eyes soon snapped over to mine.

"Don't listen to him, he doesn't know what he's talking about."

N grabbed onto my hand tighter and lightly whimpered, his eyes showing how much he wanted to believe me, but his brain telling him otherwise.

"Shhhh" I cooed and pulled him into a hug. I knew I needed to find some way to calm N down, and keep his mind off of the current situation. So I resorted to comforting him like a child.

"Everything is going to be fine N, I promise. He's a bad bad man and he won't get away with it, we won't let him. Don't listen to him; he doesn't know what he is talking about. Everything is going to be fine."

I began to run out of things to say so I began repeating myself, gently rocking back and forth in the hug so N would be too. His breathing soon regulated and his shaking ceased. I pulled back and smiled at him.

"Now N, do you have your Pokémon?" I asked. His hand reached down and into his pocket and when it came up empty he began to shake again.

I once again pulled him into a hug and rocked him until he calmed down. I pulled back and again smiled at him. His eyes flicked down a bit and he smiled, reaching out to grab my necklace. My eyes widened as I realized that Team Rocket _had_ in fact missed one Pokémon. I grinned and turned back towards the evil man, just as he was cackling at a new insult he had thrown at Ash.

"Come on out Talace!" I called, pure joy in my voice. He landed in the cage beside us and looked around, his eyes finally landing on me.

"Alright Talace, we are currently trapped in a cage in a Team Rocket base, and so I need your help" I said, quickly catching my Emboar up.

"Wait, what?" the man squealed, obviously unhappy that a Pokémon had been overlooked.

"Flamethrower" I called and Talace's flames easily melted the bars to the cage.

"You're not getting away that easily!" the man yelled, his arms flying up in the air in desperation.

This time it was my turn to laugh, "Ha! Talace, smash that thing in his hands."

My Pokémon nodded and stomped over to the man. Talace snatched the object out of the man's hand, not without a protest and smashed a fist into it, utterly obliterating the object.

The man twitched, looking at the mangled pile of machine parts which were now on the floor.

"BUTCH AND CASSIDY!" he yelled, storming out of the room.

I scrunched my eyebrows together. He seriously just left us here? He obviously wasn't the brightest bulb on the tree.

"Um, alright then" Ash said, dashing over to a small bin that held all of our Pokémon. As soon as they were back in their respective owner's possession we turned back to the task at hand: finding the two Lugia.

I left Talace out however as I had a feeling he would do well against any grunts we came across; and indeed he did. We easily plowed through every one. I had thought it would be harder to find the Lugia, but oddly enough, it was quite easy. We heard the small squeals of the baby Lugia within minutes and with the help of my Emboar, managed to break the small thing out of its cage. It was too young to fly yet so we found a small rolling cart.

"Okay, now just to find the parent" Brock said, beginning to push the baby Lugia through the door.

Immediately after Brock had spoken a siren went off. I froze, my eyes darting up to the rotating red object on the ceiling.

"CODE BLACK, THE LUGIA IS LOOSE" the voice called over the speaker. As if to accent his statement we all heard a loud boom and the ground began to shake.

We quickly pushed the cart with the small Lugia out the door and up the hallway. Thankfully a fully grown rampaging Lugia isn't that hard to find and soon we found ourselves standing only about a few feet away from it. I could tell it was in another blind rage and was firing Hyper Beams at us because it now believed that we had stolen its child.

"A BREACH HAS OCCURRED, PREPARE FOR IMMIDIATE SURFACING" the voice on the intercom yelled a few seconds after the Lugia's Hyper Beam smashed through the wall.

"Listen to me Lugia! We got your child back, just like I promised!" N yelled, his plea falling on deaf ears.

"Lugia, please don't lose faith in humans, they aren't all bad!" N yelled again, his voice slightly cracking.

I could tell the Lugia noticed how strongly he believed in this and stopped for a second, peering down into the green haired boy's eyes.

"Please Lugia, here is your child, we brought it back, just like you wanted" N said, a little quieter now.

The Lugia leaned its head down slightly, now on N's level and stared into his eyes. It let off a series of screeches and roars and I saw N smile and nod. The Lugia then nodded and leaned to its left to scoop up its child.

The Lugia then led us down the hall and to the opening it had created. We all quickly climbed out, just in time to watch the large black Team Rocket base sink into the depths of the ocean.

I widened my eyes. If we would've been even a minute later, we most likely would've drowned. I watched with a smile on my face and tears in my eyes as the two Lugia happily swam into the distance, calling back to us once before they dove underwater.

"They said thank you" N said softly, a look of pure love on his face.

I sighed. The Lugia were back together again, just like it should be. I again glanced up at N and smiled. He truly loved Pokémon, more than I could've ever imagined. And each day I spent with him I was reminded of this fact. N was special, and I needed to remember that.

But I also needed to remember that he wanted to separate Pokémon and humans, and I didn't. I loved him with all of my heart but I still needed to realize what his true goals were, and that everything wouldn't be carefree and happy forever.

* * *

**A/N: Well there was chapter 50. The next chapter will hopefully be on Wednesday. Thank you guys for all of the lovely reviews, they always make me extremely happy! **

**I hope you have a great weekend! :)**


	51. A Larger Traveling Group

**Chapter 51 it is! I'm not going to lie; I wrote this last night at about two in the morning, so I hope it is at least coherant haha; and hopefully it is enjoyable as well!**

**Anyway, I actually have a few things to say today. One- the next chapter for this story will be on Friday, and that will be my last chapter before Christmas. Two- I ****_am_**** going to do a Ferriswheelshipping Christmas one-shot and it will hopefully be up on Friday as well. And Three- I finally created a DeviantART account. I have been contemplating whether or not to do that for a while, and I finally did. Anywho, it will be filled with my sad attempts at drawing pokemon, haha, and some original artwork and photography of mine as well. So if you have an account or just want to check it out go ahead! The link is near the top of my profile page.**

**Anyway, sorry for the super long A/N. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

_**Chapter 51: A Larger Traveling Group**_

"Wow, this is amazing!" N exclaimed, his eyes open wide, carefully observing the bowl of soup in his hands.

I chuckled, "Yup, Brock is the _best_ cook."

Brock blushed slightly and a sly smile stretched across his face, "And you know the saying about cooks…"

I cocked my head to the side, confused. Brock chuckled, "You know; kiss the cook."

I heard a loud smack and looked over to realize Misty had facepalmed at Brock's remark. I on the other hand thought it was cute and leaned over to give Brock a kiss. I pulled away after a moment and he frowned, mumbling to himself as he poured his own bowl of soup.

Brock, Misty, Ash, N, and I had been traveling through Johto for the past day together. N seemed to fit right in, and surprisingly enough the tension between Brock and N seemed to be lessening, though they both constantly shot snide remarks at each other, and had competitions over absolutely _everything_. A few hours ago they had had a contest to see who could run to a tree in the distance the fastest; and I was beginning to wonder if Ash's competitive drive was rubbing off on them.

I looked up at N and saw he had a pained look on his face, staring at Brock. Brock always just gagged or made a face when N and I shared gestures, but N always just looked sad and hurt when I had moments with Brock. It killed me inside to see him like that and I sighed, brining my hand up to his cheek.

He closed his eyes and leaned into my hand. I had started doing this whenever N seemed sad, and it usually put him back in high spirits quickly.

"So, how long should it be before we are back in Kanto?" Ash asked, completely oblivious to anything that was going on around him.

Brock chuckled, "It should be about three days."

I nodded to myself and smiled. I couldn't wait to get back to Kanto. All of my Pokémon were with Professor Oak in Pallet Town and I hadn't seen them in what seemed like an eternity.

"I say we stop in Cerulean City on the way. I would like to see how the gym is doing," Misty said, looking off into space.

"Okey doke, that can be worked into our schedule," Brock said with a smile.

"WHITE!" Ash suddenly yelled, causing us all to jump and N to spill some of his soup.

"What?" I asked in a panicked tone, figuring something had to be wrong to cause him to suddenly yell like that.

"Let's do some training!"

"GOOD ARCEUS ASH, YOU DIDN'T NEED TO YELL JUST FOR THAT!" I shouted back at him and he scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Sorry."

I shook my head and smiled. Ash really needed to learn how to tone down his excitement when it came to Pokémon. It was beginning to not only cloud his judgment, but give him sudden mood swings.

"Go ahead Ash, I think I'm going to skip out on this one," I said with a smile.

He hunched forward in disappointment.

"I would love to take a look at your Pokémon, Ash" N said. My head snapped up to look at him and gave him a questioning look. A slight smile tugged at the side of N's mouth but he didn't turn to look at me.

"Oh boy!" Ash exclaimed, standing up and dashing over to his backpack.

"Come on out you guys!" Ash yelled, throwing five pokeballs into the air.

Totodile, Noctowl, Cyndaquil, Heracross, and Bayleef appeared and all looked to their trainer for th reason as to why they had been called out.

"I would like you to meet someone," Ash started, turning to N who was now standing up, brushing off his pants.

His Pokémon gave off confused noises and N clarified, telling them that he could understand Pokémon. Misty, Brock, and myself watched in awe as N slowly gained the trust and admiration of all Ash's Pokémon. Soon he was translating for Ash and letting him ask his Pokémon questions. I smiled to myself, remembering the first day N had translated a conversation between me and _my _Pokémon. That had been one of the best days of my life, and N knew it.

N's musical laugh brought me out of my thoughts.

"Yes, she does have quite the crush on you" N said, nodding towards Ash's Bayleef who was sitting faithfully at her master's side.

"Bay-Bayleef" she said sternly and N laughed again.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you."

I chuckled and continued watching the exchange. About an hour later Ash returned his Pokémon to their balls and sighed.

"Listen, that was really cool. Thanks."

N nodded, "No problem. Though I do have a question."

Ash's eyes widened but he nodded for N to go on.

"Do you always keep Pikachu out of his ball?"

Ash puffed out his chest in pride, "Sure do. Pikachu and I are best buddies!"

"Pika-Pi" Pikachu chirped as Ash petted his head.

N nodded, "Yes, I have noticed that. From what Pikachu has said, he really does like you; and considers you his ultimate partner."

Ash nodded, "I consider him my ultimate partner as well!"

N smiled lightly, "That is a bond not found very often, though I _do_ know one other trainer who has a bond like that with her starter Pokémon."

N looked back over his shoulder slightly and grinned at me. I couldn't help but blush and look at the ground. Indeed Talace and I had an amazing bond, but I never would've thought it would hold a candle to Ash and Pikachu's, but according to N they were one in the same.

* * *

A couple of hours later I once again found myself trekking through the forest with my traveling companions. Having N with us almost seemed to feel normal now and I had to admit I was elated that Brock and N were getting along so well. I sighed and looked to my right hand, and then my left. Brock and N both insisted they hold my hand and so I had my left one in Brock's and my right in N's. It was a bit awkward, but I had to admit I sort of liked it.

A sound quickly pulled me out of my thoughts, "AH!" I heard Ash yell and looked beside me to see he was gone. There was a large hole in the ground, and he was sitting at the bottom of it, rubbing the back of his head.

"Jeez, who put his hole here?"

Misty rolled her eyes, "Who do you think?"

Sure enough, less than a second later we heard the motto we all knew oh so well by now.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"And make it double!

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all people within our nation!"

N gave me a confused look and I sighed, "Just wait for it, they'll tell you who they are."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

I looked up lazily to once again see the familiar sight of the one and only Meowth balloon.

"Jesse!"

"James!"

Pretty soon we could see inside the balloon and the three figures became visible.

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!" Jesse said, throwing her hair behind her and winking.

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!" James said seductively, pulling out a rose once again.

"Meowth-"

"WAIT, HE GOT OUT!" both Jesse and James shouted, cutting Meowth off mid-sentence and pointing to the ground where Ash was now climbing out of the hole, Pikachu perched on his shoulder.

"Yeah, if you guys wouldn't say your stupid motto, we would gain about five minutes of our lives back, and you would have a better chance at _actually_ catching Pikachu!" Misty yelled, rolling her eyes.

"Misty, are you actually giving them tips?" Brock asked, looking shocked.

She shrugged, "Eh, even with 'em they won't catch any Pokémon."

"We'll see about that!" Meowth shouted, pressing a large red button.

"W-WAIT, WHAT?" N said loudly, his knees buckling slightly. I quickly grabbed onto his arm and helped him back into a fully standing position.

"What's wrong N?" I questioned.

"Th-there's a Pokémon that can talk human!"

My eyes widened when I realized what this must mean to N. Meowth and him were one in the same; the only ones of their species who could talk to the other with ease.

"You're darn right I can talk human! And I'm pretty proud of it too!" Meowth said, putting his hands on his hips.

Just as the words had left Meowth's big mouth a large red hand shot out from the bottom of the balloon, snatching Pikachu off of Ash's shoulder.

"It-It can't be!" N said in shock, his eyes still focused on Meowth.

"Bayleef, Razor Leaf!" Ash called, throwing a pokeball up into the air. The minute Bayleef had materialized she was already firing her attack, the leaves smashing through the arm and sending Pikachu back down to Ash.

"Not so fast, Arbok!" Jesse called.

"Wheezing, go!" James called as well and the two poison Pokémon were soon on the ground before us.

I saw N's gaze lower from Meowth and he frowned.

"That sounds awfully painful, have you had her take you to a Pokémon Center lately?" he asked, directing his comment at Arbok.

The snake looked taken aback.

"Ch-charbok?" it said hesitantly.

N nodded, "Jesse, at least I presume that is your name, since you said it in the motto. Anyway, you need to take Arbok here to a Pokémon Center very soon; it's still burned from a past battle."

"Wait, you can speak Pokémon?" Meowth asked, sounding shocked.

N nodded and I glanced back up at Meowth who now had his eyes widened.

"I never tought that anyone would be like me!"

With that statement he promptly threw himself off of the balloon and onto N, now hugging him.

"You and I are one of the same, pal. We're both different, misfits if you will." Meowth sniffed, tears forming in his eyes.

N looked shocked and his arms stayed out to the side, not embracing Meowth, but not pushing him away either.

"Um-uh" N stuttered, his eyes flicking around.

"MEOWTH! What are you doing?" James asked in a raised voice.

"YEAH, whose side are you on anyway?" Jesse asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"You guys, I have been waiting for this moment my entire life" Meowth said, beginning to purr and rub his head back and forth on N's chest. N still stuttered and I could tell he truly didn't know what to do.

"Arbok, poison sting!"

"Wheezing, sludge attack!"

Ash's head whipped back to the two opposing Pokémon and he quickly called counter attacks.

"Bayleef, Vine Whip. Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

Bayleef easily averted both of the attacks and sent the two Pokémon flying back into the balloon's basket with their trainers.

"Chuuuu" Pikachu grunted, sending a large jolt of electricity towards the balloon.

"You aren't missing out on _this_ blastoff you furball!" Jesse growled as another hand flew out from the balloon and pried Meowth off of N just in time to have Pikachu's attack hit on its mark and electrocute the three Rocket members. There was a slight pause and the crackling of electricity could be heard before a huge explosion occurred sending them flying into the air.

"We're blasting off again!" they shouted as they flew out of sight once again.

* * *

"I still can't believe a Pokémon could speak human" N muttered to himself that night as Brock and I were cleaning dishes.

I smiled and nodded, giving him a peck on the cheek. Misty and Ash pulled out their sleeping bags and crawled in. Brock did the same and lifted up his arm like he always did when I was about to crawl in.

I paused, turning to look at N, and then back to Brock. I wasn't going to choose between them yet, even if it _was_ only a temporary sleeping arrangement.

"I-I'll just sleep on the ground tonight Brock," I said with a slight smile.

"What?" Brock asked, looking hurt.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not going to sleep with one of you and not the other" I said as N sat down next to me.

"I'll be sleeping on the ground as well since I don't have a sleeping bag of my own," N said sweetly.

"I have an extra one" Ash said groggily, chucking another sleeping bag at N. He skillfully caught it and smiled.

"So are you sleeping with me tonight, love?"

"No" Brock answered before I could.

"So is your name 'love' now?" N asked with a frown and I couldn't help but giggle.

"No, no one's name is love. That pet name is really old-fashioned."

N looked offended and his gaze snapped to me, "Do you not like it when I call you love?"

I smiled, "I love it when you call me that" I admitted, slightly blushing.

A wide grin broke across N's face and he jolted forward quickly, crushing his lips against mine.

"Ugh, get a room!" Brock said, sounding exasperated.

I pulled back reluctantly.

"So, are you sleeping with me then…. love?" Brock asked with a grin.

"NO!" N shouted, causing everyone to jump.

"Only _I_ can call her that" N hissed, his eyes narrowed.

Brock chuckled, "Suit yourself."

N and Brock bickered on for about a half an hour about the sleeping arrangement. Finally they had devised a plan and I had to admit I was not opposed to it. Somehow they had zipped the two sleeping bags together, and since Brock could easily accommodate two people, it made room for three.

Brock and N both motioned for me to get in between them and I giggled as I shimmied into the now oversized sleeping bag.

It was the Cheren and N in the tent situation all over again as they both tried to pull me closer to them. I flopped onto my stomach.

"Goodnight you two" I said softly, letting them know I would be staying in the middle for the duration of the night.

"So no kiss?" Brock asked sadly and I couldn't help but smile. I rolled over slightly and gently pressed my lips to his. He quickly pushed his lips harder against mine and I smiled slightly. I heard N clear his throat a few seconds later and I pulled back, a blush on my face. I quickly laid back down and sighed.

"Hey, I feel a bit left out here" N said, genuine hurt in his voice. I again couldn't help but smile and rolled over in the other direction this time. I gently pushed my lips to N and I felt him relax. He wrapped one hand around my face, tenderly and passionately kissing back. This time _Brock_ cleared his throat and I pulled back, happily flopping back down in the middle, a smile on my face.

"I love you sweetheart" Brock cooed.

"I love you too Brock."

I love you darling" I heard N said softly and I smiled.

"I love you too N."

I then quickly felt myself falling asleep; but not before I could realize exactly how perfectly those last four lines had summed up the current relationship I had with the two boys.

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**A/N: So there it is! I love all of the reviews you guys send my way, and they always make me smile and do a little happy dance!**

**Anyway, have a great Wednesday! :)**


	52. Parting Ways

**Okey doke, chapter 52 it is! This is a bit of a transitioning chapter, and a bit of a filler as well, so nothing too exciting, but some important stuff does happen towards the end. I literally just finished writing this about two minutes ago, so I apologize for any mistakes I may have missed. I do have a couple of things to say though.**

**One- I have written my Ferriswheelshipping one-shot and it is now up if you guys want to check that out. Two- I apologize for these last couple chapters, they have felt a little off, I know, and that is because I have honestly been foucusing on other stories more. This will stop after Christmas break, and the old style of writing should pick back up again. And Three- This is my last chapter for the year. I will be typing like the wind over Christmas break, and I should have the next chappie up in early to mid January.**

**Anyway, I hope you all enjoy! :D**

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_**Chapter 52: Parting Ways**_

I took in a deep breath as I stepped onto land once again. For the past eight hours we had been traveling by boat to Kanto, and we had finally made it.

"I actually haven't ever been to Kanto before," N said, curiosity on his features.

"What regions _have_ you been to?" I asked.

"Well, I have been to Hoenn and Sinnoh; and I live in Unova. And I guess now since I have traveled with you in Johto and soon to be Kanto… I've been to them all. "

My eyes widened. N really got around.

"So we are in Viridian City now…" Brock started, looking at a guide book, "And it looks like the roads to Pallet Town and Cerulean City are just a few miles from here.

We all nodded and began walking.

"Can we stop by the Pokémon Center first?" Misty asked, "I would like to call my sisters and let them know I'm going to stop by for a visit."

"Sure, my Pokémon need a checkup anyway" Ash said.

"Pika-Pi" Pikachu said, looking tired.

We made it to the Pokémon Center in just under fifteen minutes and Misty immediately made her way over to the phone. She carefully dialed a number and a minute later an image flashed onto the screen. I had never met Misty's sisters, but I had heard all about them.

"D-daisy?" Misty asked, her eyes widening.

My eyes widened as well. On the screen were two girls, one with blonde hair and one with blue, both bustling around, carrying boxes, and taking down pictures.

"Oh, hiya there Misty!" the blonde said, smiling "I was just about to call you!"

"Why? What are you guys doing?" Misty asked.

"Well, like, we entered this contest thing a while ago; and we just got news that we won!"

Misty gave them a confused look.

"The prize was a trip around the world and so all three of us are leaving! I was just going to tell you to take over the gym while we are gone."

"WHAT?" Misty asked in a loud voice. Everyone in the Pokémon Center went quiet and shifted their gaze over to Misty. She blushed and looked down slightly.

"What are you talking about, I can't take over the gym… I'm traveling with Ash."

"Oh c'mon Misty, it's only temporary, plus I think you would have fun!" I heard Ash say from behind us. Brock and Ash were now standing only a few feet away and had apparently heard most of the conversation.

"There ya go Misty, good luck being a gym leader!" Misty's sister who was apparently named Daisy said with a grin and the screen clicked black.

"But-why-I" Misty stuttered looking sad.

"Being a gym leader is fun Misty!" Brock said with a smile.

"Excuse me, did I hear someone say her name was Misty?" I heard a timid voice ask. We all turned around to see Nurse Joy hesitantly walking up to us.

"Yeah my name's Misty…" Misty said hesitantly.

"Oh, well I have something for you then" Nurse Joy quickly scurried away and returned a few moments later rolling out a shining bike.

"This was left here a while ago, it was quite beaten and dented but with the help of Chansey I fixed it right up. I was told it belonged to a girl named Misty."

Misty's eyes widened, "Yeah; that's my bike!"

Nurse Joy handed it over to her and smiled before quickly walking away.

"Well how about that! Now you can get to Cerulean City even faster!" Ash said with a grin, running a finger along the bike's handlebars.

Misty looked to Ash quickly, a look of anger on her face. Without a word she quickly stormed out of the Pokémon Center, wheeling the bike beside her.

"W-what was that for?" Ash asked.

Brock shook his head, "I really don't know."

I sighed. The boys were so clueless. Misty had told me about how she had met Ash. He was in such a hurry to get to the Viridian Pokémon Center that he had stolen her bike; and eventually it had gotten fried by one of Pikachu's thunderbolts. She had then followed Ash on his journey because he still owed her a new bike; but I knew that along the way she started following him for a different reason. I sighed. Poor Misty; I knew how much she liked traveling with all of us and now she was almost being forced to leave.

I glanced around, suddenly realizing N was nowhere to be found. I finally spotted him across the Pokémon Center, kneeling down, talking to a Chansey.

I chuckled, "N!" I shouted, motioning to him that we were leaving. He nodded and gestured that he would stay where he was.

Brock, Ash and I exited the Center and I looked to my right and then to my left.

"Where do you think she went?" I questioned, squinting into the sun.

Brock and Ash shrugged. We began walking around town, searching for Misty. We didn't have to search for long however as we soon heard her voice.

"Four against one? That's not fair!" Misty shouted. My eyebrows shot up and we all quickly rushed towards her voice.

"Yeah, well too bad you don't have any friends to help you then." I heard a male voice say. We quickly rushed around the corner and my eyes widened. In front of us stood Misty, her Politoad out in front of her. Across the field were four trainers, a Hitmontop, Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan, and Tyrouge out in front of them.

"Don't worry Misty, we'll help you out!" Ash yelled and Pikachu hopped off of his shoulder.

"Foretress!" Brock called and his Pokémon landed beside both Ash and Misty's.

"Okay then, Klang, let's go!" I called.

We all walked up to stand by Misty, leaning forward, ready to battle. She looked over at Brock and Ash and then over to me, a wide grin on her face, a look of gratefulness in her eyes.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash called. The jolt of electricity hurtled towards the Hitmontop and it was thrown backwards, and easily knocked out. I made a face, these trainers were quite weak; Misty probably could've taken all four of them on her own anyway.

"Rapid Spin!" Brock called and Foretress flew into the air, spinning so fast it was a blur and smashed into the Hitmonlee, easily knocking it out as well.

"Psshht" I scoffed, "Klang, Flash Cannon!"

My Pokémon chirped in acknowledgement and formed a glowing sphere in front of itself. With a loud noise it chucked the ball towards the Hitmonchan and just like the other two, it flew backwards and was easily knocked out.

"Okay Politoad, Water Gun!" Misty shouted and the blast of water hurtled towards the Tyrouge. It was no surprise when it was easily defeated as well.

The four boys looked absolutely shocked and quickly called back their Pokémon. They glared at us before running away.

Misty sighed, "Thanks you guys."

"No problem, we'll always be here for you Misty" Ash said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

I smiled to myself but turned as I saw a bright light out of the corner of my eye. Klang, who was patiently floating beside me had suddenly flashed a bright white.

Before I had time to react the light had dimmed and a new Pokémon stood in front of me. It let off a high pitched sound and its gears snapped into place, a loud clicking sound in the air.

"Oh wow, Klinklang" I breathed, smiling.

Misty smiled as well but looked a little sad, "I'm going to miss traveling with you guys."

Brock nodded, "Yeah, but we will always stay in touch; and we will always have our memories."

Misty grinned, "Yeah."

"After all, we have these nifty X-transceiver thingies" Ash said with a smile, waving his in the air slightly.

We all chuckled and walked together back to the Pokémon Center. I knew that Misty felt a lot better, just because we all had battled together. It showed that we were truly on the same side, and we would always be friends, no matter how many miles separated us.

We walked back to the Pokémon Center and N once again joined us.

We all walked in silence for the next half an hour, just enjoying each other's company. We walked until we hit a fork in the road and we all smiled bitter sweetly.

"Well, here we are" Brock said.

One road led to Cerulean City, one to Pallet Town, and one to Pewter City.

"I guess I'll be taking this one then…" Misty said trailing off.

We all nodded. It took about fifteen minutes for us to say our goodbyes. We all reassured her if she ever needed anything just to call us, and we would be right there to talk to her. With a hug from each and a half-hearted wave, she was soon walking down the dirt road, and out of sight.

I sighed and turned back to Brock, Ash, and N.

"So Pallet Town it is!" Ash said, pumping a fist into the air.

I chuckled. Brock opened his mouth, about to say something when a loud ring pierced the air. N quickly pulled out his X-transceiver and his face paled when he looked at the name.

He looked to me frantically and I quickly took a look at the screen. It was Ghetsis.

N hesitantly answered it, "Hello Father."

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN BOY?" Ghetsis roared and I saw N flinch.

"I-uh-you know-"

I felt bad for N and quickly stuck my face into the picture, "He's in Kanto."

Ghetsis looked shocked to see me but his face quickly went back to looking angry.

"N, you need to come back to Unova at once; the Seven Sages want a meeting with you."

I could tell this wasn't an offer but an order and I watched as N stiffly nodded.

"Yes Father, I'll head back now."

Ghetsis nodded, "Good."

With that the screen clicked to black and N sighed.

"You don't always have to do what he says you know; you _are_ the King after all" I said, patting N on the shoulder.

He sighed and shook his head, "It's complicated White."

I scrunched my eyebrows together but nodded.

N quickly called out Reshiram and sighed.

"Would you like to come back with me, love?" he asked, brushing his fingers across my cheek.

I smiled, "I'm going to stay here for little bit, but I'll be back in Unova soon, I promise."

N frowned but nodded, "Alright then, pick up whenever I call."

I smiled, "Of course N."

He grinned as well and leaned down to unite our lips once more. I stood on my tiptoes and wrapped my arms around his neck. I pulled back after a moment due to the fact that I could feel Brock's glare boring into my back.

"I love you darling" N cooed.

I smiled, "I love you too, N."

With that he nodded and hopped on Reshiram. I watched quietly and carefully as he flew away and turned back to Ash and Brock when he was finally out of sight.

I turned back around and Brock spoke up.

"I think I'm actually going to head back to Pewter City."

My eyes widened, "You mean, you're leaving us as well?"

Brock frowned, "I need to go check on the gym, and make sure everything is alright."

There was a long pause and then Brock grinned, "You could come with me!"

My eyes widened.

"Yeah, you could come back and meet my family, and check out the gym!"

Brock knew how much I loved gyms; and he knew the fact that he used to be a gym leader really impressed me. I thought for a moment. I really wanted to see my Pokémon; but I guess I could go to Pallet Town after I go to Pewter City. I did have to admit I wanted to see where Brock lived.

"You know what, that sounds like fun" I said with a grin.

"Yes!" Brock exclaimed, doing a small happy dance.

We said our goodbyes to Ash quickly and watched as he disappeared down the path to Pallet Town.

Brock took my hand in his and smiled down at me.

"You ready?" he asked, elation on his features.

I nodded and we began walking down the path to Pewter City.

* * *

**A/N: So there is is! I hope you enjoyed it, and any reviews are much apprieicated! So again, this is the last you will hear from me in 2012! **

**I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas, and very Happy New Years as well! I will see you all in 2013 then! **


	53. The Harrison Family

**Chapter 53 it is! Hey guys, it's 2013! I hope you all had a great holiday season! I had a wonderful time, even though I was sick on Christmas -_- and I also got a lot written! Yay for me! Haha. Yup, I actually do have a few things to say though.**

**First off- I did write a lot, and so I should still be updating this story regularly, along with my other story and my collab. **

**Second- Because of the break I also got a few other things finished/ in the works. I just posted, about a half an hour ago, my new Ferriswheelshipping project! So if you would like to check that out, don't hesitate! I also have another collab that is currently taking shape, and that should be up sometime soon as well.**

**Third- If any of you ever want to have a wi-fi battle with me on B/W don't hesitate to ask! I am a rather mediocre battler, but it is always fun! So if you want to, just shoot me a PM!**

**Fourth- Oma, we are almost to a hundred reviews on this story! *does happy dance* So if you guys would kindly review, I would love you forever! **

**Anywho, sorry for the long author's note and again I hope you had a wonderful holiday season! Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Chapter 53: The Harrison Family**_

"Okay then, I called and they will be expecting us tomorrow" Brock said as he walked into our Pokémon Center room. He had just called his gym to let his family know we were arriving tomorrow.

I nodded and sighed, my heart rate picking up its pace. I had to admit I was terrified to see Brock's family. What if they didn't like me?

I didn't really have to worry about the family meeting with N; but with Brock, it was a whole different story. He had a huge family, and I hoped to Arceus they liked me as much as Brock did.

Brock crawled into bed beside me.

"Are you alright?" he asked, brushing a strand of hair out of my face.

I nodded, "Yeah, I'm just nervous."

Brock frowned, "About what?"

I sighed, "You know, meeting your family."

"We don't have to do it if you don't want to" Brock said in a downtrodden tone.

"No" I said quickly, holding his face in my hands, "I want to; I'm just nervous they won't…. you know…. like me."

Brock let out a loud laugh, "Don't worry, they will love you."

"I hope you're right" I mumbled.

I could almost feel Brock smile and he leaned forward to kiss my cheek. Soon however I felt his kissing avert down to my neck and I giggled.

"Brock, eeee!" I let out as he hit one of my most ticklish spots. I wriggled out of his grasp, collapsing onto the floor, laughing and scratching my now itchy neck.

Brock chuckled as well, "I sorta like that."

I managed to cease my laughing fit and gave him a confused look, "Like what?"

"That name… Brocky"

I rolled my eyes, "I didn't call you that, I just squealed because it tickled."

He nodded, "I know, but I still like it."

I climbed back in bed beside him and flopped down, "So would you like me to start calling you that?"

He grinned, "Yes, I would love that."

I rolled my eyes and grinned as well, "Alright then Brocky, time to go to sleep."

* * *

I glanced up at the large rock type gym in front of me. It was huge, and rather daunting. I audibly gulped and felt Brock intertwine his fingers with mine.

"You don't need to worry, besides, I'll be there the whole time" Brock reassured me as he knocked on the large wooden door.

I took a deep breath and tried to remember absolutely everything Brock had ever told me about his family. My gaze snapped up as the door in front of me flew open to reveal a very excited woman.

"BROCK!" she shouted, jolting forward and embracing him. I stood awkwardly. She wasn't much taller than me and had short brown hair that was curled slightly. She pulled back from the hug and then addressed me.

"You must be White then" she said, her smile engulfing her entire face.

"This is my mother" Brock quickly clarified.

I nodded and held out my hand, "It's nice to meet you Mrs. Harrison."

I had made sure to ask Brock what his last name was, and now I was glad I had.

She made a face, "Oh please, call me Lola dear" she said, pushing my hand away and enveloping me in a bone crushing hug.

I blinked my eyes quickly, shocked by the exchange and hesitantly patted her on the back. She pulled back from the hug after a moment and quickly ushered both Brock and I inside.

"BROCK'S HOME!" she yelled up the large flight of stairs that were in front of us. I heard a rumbling sound and my eyes widened. Was it an earthquake? An Earthquake attack?

My questions were soon answered however when the pounding sound got louder and a stampede of children came bounding down the stairs. Brock had told me he had a large family; but I had never expected it to be _this_ large.

"This is Salvadore, Yolanda, Tommy, Cindy, Suzie, Timmy, Billy, Tilly, and Forrest" Brock said, motioning to each of his siblings when he spoke their names.

"Hi!" all the children said in unison and I smiled.

Brock then quickly moved forward and grabbed the boy named Forrest. He pulled him into a headlock and ruffled his hair.

"Long time no see little bro" Brock said with a smile.

"Hey, hey, hey no roughhousing!" his mother said, grabbing Brock by the ear. I couldn't help but laugh. So apparently Misty wasn't the only one who wreaked havoc on his ear.

Brock obliged and followed his mother's tugging, blushing.

"Now don't give your mother troubles Brock-O" I heard a deep voice say, and from the room on my right emerged a tall man. I gaped. No doubt he was Brock's father as Brock was a spitting image.

"Why hello there, you must be the girl Brock was talking about" he said with a grin, holding out his hand. I shook it firmly and smiled.

"Oh, and you can call him Flint by the way" Lola said, looking like she could barely contain her excitement.

"You want to go check out the gym?" Brock asked with a smile, making his way back over to me.

I nodded and Brock grinned.

"Now, you just hold on a minute there. We will be eating dinner first, I already have it in the oven" Lola said, putting her hands on her hips.

I saw Brock stiffen and gave him a confused look. A loud sound then broke out into the air, almost as an answer to my question. Brock's father rolled his eyes and disappeared back into the room he had come from. I realized it was the smoke alarm and couldn't refrain from laughing.

"Mom has never been the best cook" Brock said quietly.

Lola scurried back into the kitchen and Brock dragged me in as well. I coughed as my lungs were met with thick smoke.

"I KNEW I SHOULD'VE TAKEN IT OUT SOONER!" I heard Brock's mother shriek.

My coughing was soon mixed with laughter as I saw her bustling around, fanning the air to reveal the most burnt pot roast I had ever seen. After the air was finally clear she turned to Brock and gave him the oven mitts with a frown.

"Would you mind making dinner?"

Brock chuckled and took the mitts from her, nodding.

Both of Brock's parents soon left the kitchen and it was now just Brock and I. I watched him carefully as he muttered to himself, throwing out the pot roast and picking up another pan. He pulled on an apron and it brought me back to the week of cooking lessons I had received from him. I giggled and Brock turned around.

"What?"

I shook my head, "Nothing."

Brock opened his mouth to address the situation further but was cut off as all of his siblings burst into the room.

"What are you making Brock? Can we have macaroni and cheese Brock? What Pokémon do you have Brock? Where have you been? What have to been doing? Are you two dating?"

The kitchen was soon flooded with questions.

Brock paused, apparently thinking, "I am making beef stew, no we can't have mac and cheese, I have a few new Pokémon and you can meet them in a little while, I have been in Johto with Ash and Misty, and yes."

My eyes widened. How could he remember all of those questions? I realized that the children were focusing on the last question however as their gazes all snapped over to me. I blushed slightly. I was so worried that they wouldn't like me, even though some of them were only about three years old. Before I knew it four of the smaller children had bolted over to me and clamped themselves to my legs and arms.

"You're so pretty. Are you really dating Brock? What's your name? How old are you? Do you love our big brother?"

I blinked rapidly as I tried to process all of the questions and comments that were being thrown at me.

"Hey!" Brock said in a stern voice, "Let go of her, and one at a time."

The children reluctantly let go of my limbs and all stood in front of me, looking up at me with awe.

"White, sweetheart, would you mind mixing some stuff together for me?" Brock asked with a charismatic smile.

I shook my head and sat down at the counter. All of his brothers and sisters promptly scurried around the counter and positioned themselves so they had a good view of me. I was suddenly self-conscious as many pairs of eyes watched my every move carefully.

"Hey, hey, hey, come on, why are you staring?" Brock asked with annoyance as he handed me a bowl and a spoon.

Forrest was the one to speak up, "I don't know, I just never thought you would actually have a girlfriend."

"HEY!" Brock half yelled, looking hurt.

Forrest leaned forward farther, squinting, "I don't know if I believe you Brock."

"Bu-wha-co" Brock stuttered, obviously hurt. I chuckled.

"Yes Brock and I are dating…" I trailed off, deciding to leave out any mention of N.

Forrest looked shocked but nodded, "Nice one bro."

Brock nodded and puffed out his chest in pride before he made his way back over to the stove.

* * *

Dinner was as delicious as always. We all crowded around a moderately sized dining room table and scarfed down Brock's cooking.

I had once again been bombarded with questions and I had to admit, I was a bit amused. I had answered everything from what Pokémon I had, to what my favorite color was; to an inquiry about whether or not blue was my natural eye color. I had chuckled and told the small girl it was, and she had looked flabbergasted, though I couldn't figure out why.

I looked closely at my surroundings as I helped Brock clean up the dishes. The house was homey, and safe feeling; it reminded me of my own home back in Nuvema Town. Every wall was brightly colored and everyone was very nice and pleasant. I had to admit I absolutely loved Brock's mother and she treated me like one of her own instantly. Brock's father also impressed me. He was a bit stern, but once I began to get to know him, he was just a big softie.

I was confused however. Brock's entire family had been almost _too_ eager to accept me; and I wondered why.

"So are you ready to see the gym?" Brock questioned with a grin, wiping his hands off on a towel.

I nodded and my eyes flicked over as Brock's father walked into the room.

"Uh, yeah Brock, you go on ahead, I'll be there in just a sec."

Brock gave me a hesitant nod and soon disappeared out of the room. I adjusted my gaze back over to Flint who was now putting dishes away in the cabinets. I knew he was a straight shooter, and I would get answers from him. I walked over beside him and handed him a dish. He looked a bit surprised at first but smiled warmly at me.

"Well, something tells me you want to talk. What's on your mind little lady?" he asked with a grin.

I smiled back. Flint was easy to talk to.

"Uh, I know this is going to sound weird, but…. why have you guys accepted me so quickly? I mean, Lola hugged me like I had known her for years, when I hadn't even said a word!"

Flint chuckled, "We are all happy for Brock."

I made a face; that really didn't answer my question. I was glad when he continued. He stopped messing with the dishes and turned to face me.

"Brock is a hopeless romantic, just like myself" he said with a chuckle, "He goes after almost every girl, and every once in a while he gets one."

Flint frowned, "But usually they aren't someone that makes Brock happy. I haven't seen Brock smile the way he does around you in…. well…. ever! He loves you, White. We are all acting so kind to you, because we know Brock has found that one person that will make him happy. You're like one of the family, White, and we'd like to keep it that way."

My eyes widened. I had no idea I would get such a heartfelt answer. I nodded with a smile and Flint turned back to putting up dishes. I suddenly had an overwhelming urge to hug Brock and so I quickly scurried out of the room. I looked around. 'Crap' I thought to myself. I hadn't asked Brock where they gym part of this building was. I wandered around for a few minutes before I found a hallway that looked a bit different from the others. The walls were made of stone and it looked like it led to a large room. I quickly walked down the hallway and sure enough it opened into a gigantic room.

The ceiling was so tall I could barely see the top. In front of me stood a regulation battle field, covered in jagged rocks, and much to my surprise, pools of water. I soon saw Brock, who was standing near the edge of one trainer box, patting a giant piece of stone.

I still had the urge to hug him and so before I knew it my feet were carrying me towards Brock at a high speed.

He turned around and smiled, "Oh, hi White. What do you-OOF!" he let out as I crushed him in a hug.

He stumbled back a few steps and caught his balance on one of the rocks. His arms swiftly wrapped around me and he sighed, resting his chin on top of my head.

Brock was never really one to tell me how he felt. The only time I had heard something that truly described how he felt was when I had stumbled upon his journal, and it had told me he had feelings for me. His father had disclosed information that was personal to Brock, and I now felt closer to him than ever.

"Um, White, what is this for?" Brock asked in a content voice. "Not that I don't like it" he followed up quickly.

I smiled and adjusted my head on his chest, "I don't know, I just wanted to show you I love you I guess" I said with a smile, my voice partially muffled by his shirt.

I heard Brock's heart rate quicken and I chuckled.

I soon pulled back from the hug and Brock intertwined his fingers with mine, giving me a tour of the gym. He showed me absolutely every nook and cranny, and I had to admit I was impressed. Everything was very clean, and very sturdy. Definitely something fit for Rock Pokémon. Brock had also explained about the pools of water. He had grimaced and told me his mother preferred water types, and so they were now incorporated in the gym. I had chuckled. His mother was one giant ball of energy, and I could definitely picture her insisting that water Pokémon be a part of the gym as well.

That night as I climbed into bed with Brock I was completely happy. Well, almost. I was so confused. I loved Brock so much, and I could see staying with him forever; however I could see the exact same thing with N. I thought I would've been able to at least distinguish a frontrunner, but I couldn't, and for some reason that plagued me.

"So what's on tab for tomorrow?" Brock asked sweetly as I snuggled into his chest for the night.

I sighed, "Actually, I better head on back to Pallet Town."

"WHAT?" Brock half yelled, causing me to jump.

I sighed, "I'm sorry, and I know I've only been here for one day, but I really should be getting back to Unova. I haven't been back in over two months. Plus, N nearly blew a gasket when I told him I was now just traveling with you, no Ash."

I heard Brock involuntarily chuckle. "Alright, I guess. Just promise you will answer whenever I call."

I nodded, "I promise. What are _you_ planning on doing now?" I questioned.

Brock sighed, "I don't really know. I will stay here for a while, maybe train some and inspect the gym some more. Then maybe I can start working on some more tips for breeding and new recipes for Pokémon food."

I nodded. It was sad that the gang was now all split up. Ash in Pallet, Misty in Cerulean, Brock in Pewter, and soon I would be back in Unova.

"You're going to come back sometime right?" Brock questioned.

I chuckled, "Of course I am. I just need to get on to the next gym, plus I have to ask the leaders there all about the Dark Stone if I am planning on having Zekrom anytime soon."

I smiled to myself. I now talked so casually about Zekrom and that whole situation. I was talking about a legendary Pokémon; one so rare that there was only one in existence, and I was the one who had the stone it slept in.

I sighed.

"I'm going to miss you" Brock cooed.

"I'm going to miss you too Brocky," I said without much thought, and I could almost feel his smile as he clicked off the bedroom light.

* * *

**A/N: So there it is! Don't forget to drop a review to let me know what you think! :D**

**Have a great weekend! :D**


	54. The Legend

**Okey smokies, chapter 54! This is a rather long chapter, and it has lots of text from the game, but a lot happens so hopefully it will be worth it, haha. I really like the next chapter for some reason and that should be up sometime next week. Oh, and I hope you guys can understand the last few paragraphs in this chapter, I had a hard time summarizing, lol.**

**Holy snap guys! Generation 6 was announced yesterday and I'm still on a natural excitement high. I absolutely adore the fire starter, (foxes are my favorite animal, so I almost had a heart attack of excitement when I saw it looked like a Fennec Fox!). The grass starter is rather cute, and the water one... is just odd, not really sure what I think of him. The legendries look freaking amazing as well! I made a promise never to get a 3DS because I thought it was pointles... -_- welp I'm going to have to break that promise... well played Nintendo... well played.**

**Anywho I just have one other thing to say before we get started! I am no longer centering my text in my stories, and I have fixed the previous chapters as well!**

**Okey dokey, that's all, I hope you enjoy! :D**

* * *

_**Chapter 54: The Legend**_

I looked down at my X-transceiver as I landed in Pallet Town and smiled. It was only eight in the morning; I was right on schedule. I returned Sigilyph and once again took in the scenery of this quaint town. I had decided I needed to get back to Unova around noon, so I needed to be leaving Pallet very soon. A quick stop by Ash's house and then a quick stop to see my Pokémon; and I would be back on my way to Unova.

I jogged down the dirt road and smiled when I saw Ash's house; Mr. Mime faithfully sweeping the already dusty road, creating a small cloud.

"Mr. Mime!" he greeted me with a wave when I rounded the corner onto Ash's lawn and I smiled and waved back.

I knocked on the door and was surprised when it flew open after less than a second.

"White! I wasn't expecting you this soon!" Ash said, his voice slurred because of the apple in his mouth. I rolled my eyes and smiled.

"Yup, I just wanted to stop by and say hi. See what you are doing, and then head on over to Professor Oak's."

Ash widened his eyes, "I'm actually going there now," he said, pulling on his jacket and stepping out onto the porch, shutting the door behind him. I smiled and we began to walk towards the lab.

"So what are you planning on doing now Ash?" I questioned.

Ash pulled the apple out of his mouth and looked saddened.

"I don't know White, I am really bored. But Professor Oak just called and told me he had something to tell me. So hopefully that will give me _something_ to do."

I chuckled. Ash was just as restless as I was. We made it to the lab in just under five minutes and walked in without knocking. We didn't need to; and the Professor had made that clear the last time we had seen him.

A deafening sound broke into the air the minute we stepped inside and both Ash and I covered our ears. What was it? My eyes widened however as I realized that sound was familiar. I broke out into a run and burst through the back door into the backyard which housed all of the Pokémon kept in the lab. Sure enough, my Zebstrika, who was quite the noisy one, was stampeding towards the lab, along with all of my other Pokémon. I grinned.

Pokémon grew very attached to their trainers, and grew sad when they didn't get to see their masters very often. I hadn't seen my Pokémon in what seemed like ages, and I knew they were as excited as I was to be reunited.

Zebstrika and all of my other Pokémon slowed to a halt just in time as to not crush us and I smiled.

"Hi guys!"

I was met with a chorus of happy voices. I quickly moved forward and wrapped my arms around Zebstrika's neck. I then moved down the line of Pokémon and embraced each one, letting them know how much I had missed them. Finally after I had made it through all of them I stepped backwards.

"Well, it looks like they were a little excited to see you White" I heard the unmistakable voice of Professor Oak say. I smiled as I saw him walk out from behind the lab and nodded. My attention was turned back to my Pokémon however as I felt something tugging on my leg. I looked down and realized Excadrill was gently prodding my thigh. I smiled. The last time he had tried to get my attention he had sliced open my arm; but this time he was being much gentler; he had learned.

I leaned down and smiled.

"Hi there, I missed you."

He let out a series of grunts and squeaks with a worried look on his face and I frowned. I couldn't comprehend what he said, and it frustrated me to no end that I still couldn't understand.

I felt Talace's ball wiggle and looked down to the necklace. I gave a confused look but granted Talace's wish and let him out.

When he appeared he quickly greeted the Pokémon as well, once again reunited with his friends but soon turned to me. He began to grunt and huff and I realized he was trying to tell me what Excadrill had been saying.

I smiled and nodded. I somehow could understand Talace better, and I didn't know how. Granted it wasn't a perfect translation, but from how he moved his arms and how his face looked, I got a general idea of what he was saying. I had realized this connection getting stronger over the past few months, and I had to admit I was ecstatic.

Talace finished his speech and I realized he was saying Excadrill was asking when he could come and travel with me again.

"Right now if you want!" I said with a grin. I knew I wanted Excadrill on my final team, and I was actually really excited to have him back in the group. Thundurus was an amazing Pokémon, but he still had an attitude, and I had a feeling he was bored being cooped up in his ball constantly.

I quickly exchanged Thundurus for Excadrill's ball from Professor Oak and returned Excadrill with a smile. I slipped his pokeball back into my bag and snapped Talace's pokeball back into the necklace once he was returned as well.

"So what did you want to see me about Professor?" Ash questioned, shaking with excitement.

Oak chuckled, "Well, I just wanted to know if you were curious about starting another adventure."

Ash vigorously nodded.

"Well, Gary started out a few days ago to Hoenn. It will have another Pokémon League you can enter, and not to mention, many new Pokémon you can catch! I don't know if you will want-"

"I'll DO IT!" Ash shouted and I shook my head. I wasn't sure if he wanted to do it more because of what the region held, or because he didn't want Gary to get to have an adventure when he couldn't.

The Professor chuckled, "Very well Ash, I'll get you the information."

Oak then walked back into the lab and I smiled.

"Well, I gotta go if I am planning on being in Unova before the afternoon." I said and Ash nodded.

"You have fun Ash, maybe we'll see each other sometime." I grinned, wondering if Ash would ever enter the Unova League.

He nodded and we had a short hug before I called out Sigilyph again and said goodbye to all of my other Pokémon.

* * *

"Already?" N asked, a wide smile on his face.

I nodded. N was surprised I was coming back to Unova after only a day, but I could tell he wasn't going to protest.

His smile faded, "I'm sorry love but I'm not going to be able to meet you today. I have a lot to take care of."

I smiled, "That's alright, just let me know when you are free and we can meet up."

He nodded, the solemn look still on his face. I glanced up as I saw the large landmass that was Unova in the distance.

"Alright N, I gotta go."

He nodded, "I love you White."

I smiled, "I love you too N."

I pressed the end call button and stuffed the X-transceiver back into my bag before I landed on the platform. The man that always checked my pass hastily walked out to me and chuckled, holding out his hand.

"You know, you really probably don't have to stop anymore; you come through here so often." He said, inspecting my pass before handing it back to me.

I smiled and bid him a farewell before once again mounting Sigilyph and taking off towards Icirrus City. I checked my map while we were flying and confirmed the next town to be Opelucid City. Apparently between the two towns were Route eight and a large bridge. I nodded to myself and stuffed away the map.

We landed within minutes and I told Sigilyph what a great job he had done before I headed to the Eastern part of the town. Everything in Icirrus City was still covered with snow and I wondered if this town ever saw a warm sunny day.

Sure enough I soon saw a sign that said 'Route 8' and I grinned. Time to catch some Pokémon.

It had been a while since I had been on a new Route, and able to catch Pokémon, and I was having a blast. The entire Route was covered with snow, just like Icirrus City and all the surrounding lakes were frozen over.

I was able to catch an Alomomola, a Shelmet, and a very interesting looking Pokémon called Stunfisk. His appearance made me chuckle and I hoped Professor Oak would have a good time with him as well.

I loved the snow, and all the frozen water but I had admit I was relieved when I once again stepped onto regular land, with grass and dirt. There was a large archway in front of me and I realized it was the entrance to the bridge I had read about. I wracked my brain for its name and finally remembered it was called the Tubeline bridge. I nodded to myself and happily crossed onto the bridge.

My feet made a clanging noise as I stepped onto the bridge and I realized it was made of steel. I smiled and looked over the edge. Clear skies were all I saw, along with a few Ducklett happily swimming in the ocean below. However the tranquil scene was soon interrupted as I felt the bridge begin to vibrate. I stopped and looked around, searching for the source and finally I found what it was.

"OH HOLY CRAP!" I yelled out loud as a train zoomed by under my feet. My eyes flicked around frantically but relaxed when I realized that was normal. There were train tracks underneath the walking section of the bridge. I sighed and began walking again.

Every few minutes a train would go zooming by and I would once again almost have a heart attack but after a while I got fairly used to it. I squinted and grinned when I realized I could see what was surely Opelucid City in the distance. I once again went over my checklist.

First I would talk to the gym leaders. Alder and Juniper had said to find the gym leaders in this town, because they would most likely know something about the Dark Stone. I frowned. There were two gym leaders? I shrugged; Striation City had three, so I guess two wouldn't be too uncommon. But why would they know something about the Dark Stone?

I was quickly brought out of my thoughts as I realized someone was standing in front of me. I began to veer around them when I froze. I knew those people. My gaze slowly wandered upwards and I felt my blood run cold. The emotionless faces of the Shadow Triad stared down at me and I swallowed. Why couldn't these people just leave me alone?

"Come" they said sternly and began walking in the direction I was already going. I made a face. Seriously? They were acting all dramatic just to tell me to keep walking? I scoffed but obliged to 'following' them.

Soon I saw what they were apparently leading me to and I quickly tried to put on a brave face. It was Ghetsis, and that man's presence never failed to startle me.

"Go with Lord Ghetsis" the Triad members all said in unison before blurring slightly, and reappearing behind the large Sage.

Ghetsis smiled, "Splendid! It seems you have obtained the Dark Stone."

I frowned, "How did you know that?" I asked.

He shrugged lightly, letting me know he wasn't going to answer my question.

"First I must congratulate you on your efforts," he said, walking closer to me, "And now I will tell you N's intentions."

I frowned; N had already told me what his intentions were. But I humored Ghetsis this once.

"As you have both subdued Legendary Pokémon, he wants to fight with conviction to see if he truly is a hero."

I nodded. Yes, N wanted to prove himself to the world by battling the other hero, which was apparently me, and winning.

"I have trained him for the role of one who would become a hero since he was very young."

My eyes widened and I watched Ghetsis begin to pace slowly. What did he mean by train?

"And as a result he has entered the recognition of the Legendary Pokémon; he is truly a pure one."

I made a face. Why did Ghetsis care? I mean sure, he probably wanted his son to achieve his goals, but he talked as if there was something in it for him rather than helping N. I frowned, surely not. N was the King, and the only reason he had revived the dragon was to fight to make his goal a reality; the rest of Team Plasma was just following in suit.

"The liberation of Pokémon that I-" Ghetsis cut himself off and quickly looked to me with a slight hint of panic in his expression.

I frowned, there it was again. He was talking as if it was something _he_ wanted, not just something he and Team Plasma was helping N with.

Ghetsis cleared his throat, "I mean, that Team Plasma speaks of… it means separation from foolish humans!" he now nearly shouted. "Yes! So that all trainers will be powerless to oppose us! It would be perfect if we were the only ones to use Pokémon!"

I made a face, he was really overly dramatic. He quieted slightly and leaned forward, so he was on my level.

"So we made our preparations… and we put our perfect plan into action. We would relinquish a few Pokémon at first, taking them from a _few_ trainers who refused to battle us."

His red eye flicked back and forth to both of mine and I leaned away from him slightly. Something about his man wasn't right. He claimed he wanted to liberate Pokémon for the good of the Pokémon, and yet he made it sound like he wanted it for the good of Team Plasma and himself.

He leaned forward further, his eyes sparkling with something… greed maybe? I leaned further backward. He was nothing like N. N was caring and you felt comfortable around him instantly. Ghetsis was harsh and made me want to cower away.

"But those few… they will grow… into a hundred, and then a thousand!" he hissed, carefully pronouncing each word. "We will force_ all_ trainers to give up their Pokémon. Soon even the gym leaders and the Champion will be forced to follow!"

I snarled. This wasn't right. People and Pokémon worked _together_; it would be ridiculous to separate them.

"Soon, owning Pokémon will be a crime!" he spat, a grin on his features.

I shook my head vigorously, letting him know I wasn't accepting the future he proposed.

He nodded though, "Yes, _that_ is the world it will become."

I grimaced, "No, no it won't." I refused.

Both Ghetsis and I knew I had a say in that future. Much to my surprise however I heard him chuckle.

"Even though you hold onto that stone; I highly doubt that the Legendary Pokémon would recognize _you_ as hero," he scoffed.

I looked up at him with shock. He couldn't be serious! A low growl resonated from the back of my throat and my hands balled into fists.

He glanced down at me from the corner of his eye and smirked, noticing my agitation, "Yet if you do not wish to be separated from your beloved Pokémon, you must _try_ your hardest…"

I noticed he used the word 'try' and my hands clenched together tighter. I so wanted to punch him, it would be so satisfying, but as I moved forward slightly the three Shadow Triad members stepped forwards as well, shooting me warning glares.

I took a deep breath and managed to calm myself. I glanced back up at Ghetsis to see his attention was no longer on me as he turned to face Opelucid City. He glanced over his shoulder slightly before once again smirking and walking ahead. The Shadow Triad loyally followed close to him and I frowned.

Surely Zekrom would recognize me. N had told me I was the other hero; he couldn't be wrong; could he?

* * *

"Oh White, over here!" I heard a gruff voice shout as my feet crossed into Opelucid City.

My eyes widened as I saw the strikingly red hair of Alder walking towards me, through a sea of people. He finally emerged and smiled at me.

Before I knew it he had grabbed my hand and yanked me into the crowd of people. I looked around, wondering why so many people were gathered and soon found my answer. I rolled my eyes as I watched Ghetsis moving about, his arms flailing around, spewing words that were supposed to convince people to give up their Pokémon.

"That lying Ghetsis" Alder snarled and I looked up at him with shock. Alder never got angry; he really must feel passionate about this.

My attention was averted back to Ghetsis however as I heard N's name.

"It is true!" he shouted, "Through Lord N we have joined forces with the Legendary Pokémon. A brand new world shall be created!"

I heard mumblings among the people in the crowd and I felt like shouting at them not to listen to this maniac.

"Pokémon are creatures whose sheer potential is limited by humans. If we wish to see their true magnificence we should liberate them from our control!"

Once again the crowd murmured and I felt disbelief take over me. There was a couple in front of me who was nodding, apparently agreeing with what Ghetsis said. No, no one should agree with that! No one should actually _want_ to be separated from Pokémon!

"Create a new land, together with Team Plasma! A land where Pokémon, people, all shall be free. Everyone, release your Pokémon!"

I shook my head in disappointment. Even if what he preached was a bunch of bull, he did have a gift for public speaking.

Ghetsis and his grunts soon departed and the people around us slowly began to disperse, still all talking amongst themselves about what they had heard. I looked around myself. Opelucid City was quite beautiful; quaint buildings, stone streets, and in front of me stood a grandiose fountain, crystal clear water shooting up into the air.

My attention however averted to two figures still standing in front of the fountain. My eyes widened. One of the figures was familiar. It was that girl that had helped Bianca retrieve her Munna, no mistake with that hairdo. The other man I didn't know.

"You ready?" Alder asked with a smile.

I gave him a questioning glance and he chuckled.

"Those are the Opelucid City gym leaders."

My eyes widened and my gaze snapped back to the man and the girl. Alder patted me on the shoulder before guiding me over to them.

"Hey, Drayden, Iris, long time no see!" Alder boomed.

Iris turned with a smile, "Oh hi Uncle Alder, oh, and the missy from before!"

She obviously remembered me and I gave her a warm smile.

"I was really pretty surprised when I found out you were supposedly the other hero" Iris said with a grin and one of my knees gave way.

Alder chuckled, "Yes, all of the gym leaders have been informed of the current situation regarding N and… you."

I nodded slightly and blinked a few times, trying to clear my head. Word really got around fast. I still couldn't shake what Ghetsis had said to me earlier about Zekrom not choosing me, and I had to admit I was afraid maybe other people thought the same. Maybe I wasn't good enough.

"Why are you here Alder?" Drayden asked in a pleasant tone.

"Well, frankly I'm here to ask about the legendary dragon Pokémon."

Drayden's eyes widened and he stiffly nodded.

"Oh, you mean Zekrom? Or maybe Reshiram?" Iris asked in a chipper tone.

Alder nodded.

"But what that shady man Ghetsis said; about the boy named N resurrecting Reshiram…" Drayed trailed off.

Alder nodded again, "Yes, it is true. And N also told White she was to be the one who would resurrect Zekrom, and oppose him."

Drayden quickly looked down to me, "So, do you have the stone?"

I gave him a surprised look. Apparently he did know about the legend if he knew there was going to be a stone involved. I nodded and looked around to make sure no one was in the area before taking out the Dark Stone from my bag.

Drayden nodded to himself. "So they are the two heroes then. Does that mean N had actually befriended the other legendary dragon?"

Alder nodded, "Yes. Fighting with Pokémon is sometimes used to understand one another; and I believe that is why N is fighting now."

Drayden and Iris both nodded, looking very excited and yet wary.

"Well then, I better be heading back to the Pokémon League. Well, I guess in this case it would be returning," Alder said, letting out another one of his booming laughs.

I rolled my eyes and smiled.

"I'll beat N of course," he said, once again putting a hand on my shoulder. "I'll teach him how wonderful this world is with Pokémon and humans together," he said with a bitter sweet smile. "Now White, I expect to see you soon as well. Opelucid will be your eighth gym badge, and so that means you will be able to challenge the Pokémon League soon."

I nodded vigorously. I couldn't wait, and I had to admit I felt a little better now. Alder was going to try and beat N if he made it to the Pokémon League before I did, or before Zekrom was resurrected. I had back up of sorts, and I felt safety because of that. The more people fighting against Team Plasma and their goals, the better. However, I knew N wouldn't be satisfied until he had his battle with me, and he had proven himself once and for all.

Alder gave me a wink before he turned and slowly walked out of sight, soon calling out his Braviary.

I turned back to the two gym leaders with a curious glance. What were they going to do now? My question was soon answered as Drayden offered for me to join them for dinner and discuss the legendary dragons.

I accepted, and in the next two hours I was overloaded with information. Drayden and Iris told me all about the legend and the Dark and Light Stones.

Apparently originally Zekrom and Reshiram were one dragon, and that dragon Pokémon created a new world together with two twin brothers. Everything was peaceful and calm, until one fateful day. The older of the two brothers, who were in that time called heroes, sought the truth. The younger of the two brothers sought the ideal.

A dividing struggle began as the two brothers constantly fought. The dragon that had helped them also split into two, to be able to support both. A dark dragon, Zekrom searched through the new world for its ideal. And a light dragon, Reshiram, searched the old world for truth.

The two dragons, originally being from the same being began to oppose each other as well, and this made the quarrel more violent. Whichever dragon won in their fights would end up absolutely exhausted, and the brothers saw their situation to be the same. They couldn't find either truth or ideals to be more right than the other, and so the struggle subsided and peace was restored.

However the struggle once again ensued and the brothers fought alongside the dragons this time. Zekrom's lightning and Reshiram's fire eradicated the land, destroying it to nothing but ash. However, none of that would have happened if it weren't for the fact that humans misunderstood how to interact with Pokémon. The brothers had fought for truth and ideals so strongly that they put the thoughts and feelings of the dragons in the backseat. So Zekrom and Reshiram did their best for everyone and created a new land, and they called it Unova.

And it was because of the strong bond between Pokémon and humans that they were able to forgive and get along with one another.

Drayden had passionately expressed that he felt it necessary Pokémon and humans continue to live together for the sake of peace. He had said it was important for Pokémon and humans to believe and trust in one another, and if that bond was broken, surely something horrific would happen.

Drayden and Iris had then congratulated me on obtaining the Dark Stone and had told me that was all they knew. They knew much more than most people, but they still didn't know a lot.

I had thanked them profusely before leaving the very homey apartment and once again stepping out onto the street.

I blinked a few times. I had gotten so much information today that I didn't know how I would ever be able to process it all. It was a complicated situation and I knew it would be a long time before my brain would be able to comprehend all of it. My heart however felt strong and sure. I would oppose N and Team Plasma, and I would win. Zekrom would awaken and recognize me as hero, and then N and I would have our final battle to decide who was right.

I sighed. 'I will win' I once again assured myself. I would win, because I was right. I would win; or at least hopefully I would.

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**A/N: I hope you liked it! Again, any reviews you can spare are always greatly appriciated. And again if you have some extra time or are bored, you could check out my new Ferriswheelshipping project..."Complicated Interactions". Yup, and also, what do you guys think of the new generation so far? I would really like to know!**

**I hope you all have a great Wednesday! :D**


	55. The Eighth and Final Gym Battle

**Chapter 55 it is! As I said, I actually sort of like this chapter for some reason; huh. I don't think I have really anything to say about this one. But I do have a real quick thing to add.**

**I have started my collab with Malory79080 and it is on her profile. So if you would like to check that out I would be much obliged. She is in my favorite authors box thingy. **

**And again, if you would like to check out "Complicated Interactions" my new Ferriswheelshipping thing, I have the second one up, and I sorta like it. I promise this is the last bit of promotion... I promise.. tee hee.**

**Anyway, disreguard me, and enjoy! :D**

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_**Chapter 55: The Eighth and Final Gym Battle**_

I scuffed my heels on the stone below me as I walked back to the Pokémon Center. I had been deep in thought and a little depressed the entire day, but now I had to admit I was just plain excited. I had the chance to befriend a legendary dragon; not many people could say that.

I rounded the corner and trudged up a few steps to the Pokémon Center. I was still looking at the ground when I passed through the automatic glass doors but my gaze snapped up as I heard a voice.

"White!"

I grinned, that was N, no mistake there. Sure enough a moment later he had pushed his way past a group of trainers and was running towards me. He plowed into me mere seconds later and lifted me up slightly in the air, spinning in circles.

I giggled. I felt like a child whenever N hugged me like this. He was about a foot taller than me and so sometimes I felt dwarfed beside him.

"I'm so glad you're back!" he exclaimed, his eyes sparkling.

I smiled, "Me too. But I thought you said you weren't going to be able to see me tonight."

N nodded with a smile, "Well, I found a way to get out early."

I nodded and before I could say another word his lips were on mine. I smiled slightly and wrapped my arms around his neck. I quickly opened one of my eyes however, peeking out into the real world as I felt like someone was staring at us, and boy was I right. Absolutely everyone in the Pokémon Center had their eyes fixed on the exchange between N and myself.

I quickly pushed on his chest to break the kiss and I heard a quiet whine of disapproval. I smiled and blushed as I quickly made my way over to Nurse Joy and got a key to the room I would be staying in. I then bolted down the hall, grateful that I was now out of the public eye. N had quickly followed me, a confused look on his face all the while.

I soon found the room and shoved open the door. It looked just like all of the other larger Pokémon Center rooms I had been in, and I sighed in contentment. These rooms felt like home, and I hadn't been in one for a good two and a half months.

N followed me inside and shut the door behind him. I flopped down on one of the two large white couches in the main room and quickly let out my Pokémon. N watched quietly and carefully as Sigilyph, Lampent, Excadrill, Klinklang, Vanillish, and Talace appeared.

"Oh I see we've had some evolutions since I last saw you guys," N said with a grin, addressing my Pokémon. I thought about it and nodded. Since N had seen my Pokémon last, Litwick had evolved into Lampent and Klang had evolved into Klinklang.

All of my Pokémon dispersed and settled in their usual places for sleeping. Sigilyph and Klinklang settled by the door to the bedroom N and I slept in, Vanillish slept on the carpet near the refrigerator, Lampent stayed near one of the couches, and Excadrill curled up by the window, one of the long curtains acting as a blanket. Talace however stayed standing and began lightly grunting at N.

N frowned, "Really? I didn't think she would be that interested."

I sat up on the couch, "What? Me?"

N smiled and nodded, "Talace said that you have been very curious about meeting _my_ Pokémon."

I nodded vigorously. I had become good friends with Zorua, who was now a Zoroark, and I also knew he had a Carracosta since it had helped us search for Team Rocket. And of course he had Reshiram, but rather than that, I didn't have a clue as to what Pokémon N had.

"Alright then," N said, fishing five pokeballs out of his pocket and swiftly throwing them into the air. I leaned forward in anticipation as the bright white lights of the Pokémon began to dim.

I nodded as the first two Pokémon to appear were Zoroark and Carracosta. I gave a surprised look as an Archeops appeared next. That Pokémon was supposedly extinct as well! How on Earth did N get both Carracosta and Archeops? I quickly shook my head of these thoughts as the last two lights dimmed. I felt a smile grace my features. The last two Pokémon were a Klinklang and a Vanilluxe.

Klinklang and Vanilluxe were both Pokémon I had chosen to be on my final team, and apparently so had N. My Klinklang and Vanillish quickly floated over to the newcomers and they began chattering amongst themselves.

"Wow, that's a pretty impressive lot you have there," I said with a smile.

N chuckled, "Yes, I can't let Reshiram out in this small of a room, but he is my sixth."

I nodded and smiled as both Klinklangs began circling around each other, apparently playing some sort of odd game. I saw Talace glance over at me out of the corner of my eye and nod before sitting down on the floor. I smiled as my Pokémon slowly began to gather around. Soon both Klinklangs and Vanilluxe and Vanillish had made their way to another part of the room, still talking, and frolicking around with one another. Sigilyph and Archeops immediately hit it off as well and began flying around the room. Excadrill and Carracosta seemed to befriend one another and soon were showing off their moves to each another. N and I both had to scold them after a few lamps were broken and we both chuckled.

Talace grunted and nodded to Zoroark and the large dark Pokémon did the same. They seemed to have a mutual respect for one another and I think they realized they were both N and my closest Pokémon.

N sat down on the couch next to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his chest.

"If you wanted to see my Pokémon you could've just asked you know."

I nodded, "Uh, N. _Can_ I ask you something?" I inquired hesitantly.

I felt him stiffen but he nodded.

"Of course my love."

"Have you tried to challenge the Elite Four yet?" I asked. I knew when N challenged the Elite Four and the Champion that would be the signal that I needed to as well. I had to not be too far behind him if I planned on battling and winning before Team Plasma took away too many more Pokémon.

"No, not yet." He answered and I sighed in relief.

I once again glanced around the room at all of our Pokémon, playing around and having fun with one another. I smiled but a sad feeling washed over me. Soon these Pokémon would be in battle _against_ each other, having to fight the ones that were once their friends. Was that right? I sighed; Pokémon loved to battle, it was in their nature, and so surely they would understand. I knew all of my Pokémon understood the larger picture, with Zekrom and the two heroes, and I knew they were just as pumped to win as I was.

I was brought out of my thoughts as Lampent slowly and carefully floated over to us. I frowned; he seemed to be left out since N only had five Pokémon. N leaned forward, listening as Lampent began to let out a series of high pitched noises.

N's eyes widened, "Wait, you _want_ to?"

I looked back and forth from N to Lampent, once again completely lost.

N smiled, "Well that is very… noble of you. I will let her know."

"Let me know what?" I asked quickly, my eyes still flitting from my Pokémon to N, and then back again.

N smiled, "Well, Lampent here says he would like you to evolve him."

I made a face and N soon picked up on my confusion.

"Lampent evolve into Chandelure by use of a Dusk Stone. Lampent says he wants to evolve to become stronger for you."

I noticed N had an odd look on his face and I gave a warm smile. I could tell N was confused as to why Lampent wanted to evolve f_or_ me. Pokémon always wished to please their trainers by becoming stronger, and I was very excited that Lampent felt this way.

"Are you sure?" I asked, knowing that the results wouldn't be able to be reversed.

Lampent nodded quickly and I smiled, rummaging around in my bag. I had been given a Dusk Stone by a very nice man on one of the earlier routes and I had stuffed it deep down, figuring I would never need it. I pulled out the small stone, about the size of a tennis ball and Lampent squealed in delight.

"Alright then" I said, grinning and holding out the stone to Lampent. He quickly moved forward and touched one of his arms to the stone. I squinted my eyes as he flashed a bright white. The white blob began to morph and as it did the black color was slowly sucked out of the stone. When the stone finally turned completely grey Lampent's light dimmed and I gaped at the new Pokémon.

He had grown in size drastically, and looked to be much stronger, but what really caught my attention was his new shape. Now instead of two arms he had four and from each arm protruded a large purple flame. Not to mention the large purple flame coming from his center, which looked to be very powerful and very hot. I smiled. He definitely looked like one tough Pokémon now.

He chirped a high-pitched noise and began circling the room.

"Wow" N said in awe.

I made a face. Why was he so surprised? I couldn't tell if he was more shocked at Chandelure's new look or still surprised by the fact that my Pokémon had wanted to evolve_ for_ me.

The rest of the night N and I slipped back into our old routine. We grabbed dinner from the Pokémon Center's cafeteria and watched a movie as we ate the food back in our room. The Pokémon of course enjoyed their meals as well, but I had to admit now that N's Pokémon were out and munching as well, it felt like one gigantic happy family.

That night as I once again snuggled into N's chest I had to admit I was perfectly happy and at ease. The stress from the hero situation seemed to melt away when I was around N and I knew that was because N had no doubt in his mind that I was the other hero. I glanced over at my bag where the Dark Stone was safely tucked away and smiled.

'I hope Zekrom likes me' I thought groggily to myself before falling asleep.

* * *

I woke up the next morning with new life and vigor. I was pumped. Today would be the day I would challenge the last gym, and get my eighth gym badge. I was nervous, yes, because once I had the last badge that meant challenging the Elite Four, Champion, and N was in my near future. But excitement won out. I was making my goal come true. I was going to beat absolutely everyone and hopefully someday soon become the Champion of Unova. I smiled at the title. Champion of Unova, it sounded fantastic.

I felt a little saddened however as I looked beside me to see N was nowhere to be seen. I quickly skimmed over the note he left and frowned. He had left early to see me the past day and apparently his father was quite angry.

I chuckled, wondering if Ghetsis was ever _not_ angry. I stood up and stretched, bursting through the door and into the main room. I apparently scared both Sigilyph and Klinklang who were still faithfully sleeping by my door and I saw a stray thunderbolt attack fly across the room and smash into a sleeping Excadrill. He slowly woke up, looking confused. I chuckled, he was a ground type so Klinklang's electric attacks wouldn't do anything, but apparently' they had successfully woken him up.

"Okay guys, gather round!" I said, plopping down on the floor, sitting criss cross. All of my Pokémon quickly gathered around me, looking bleary eyed but curious as to what I wanted to talk about.

"Alright then guys, today we are going to challenge our last gym. I will be battling… uh…. either Iris or Drayden, and both of them use Dragon type Pokémon. Dragon and Ice attacks are strong against Dragons so…" I trailed off, looking at all of my Pokémon.

I didn't have anything close to a Dragon type but I did have Vanillish, who seemed to sense I wanted to battle with him. He let out an excited jingle and moved closer, as if to ask if he was going to get a chance to battle in a gym match. I heard Talace roar and before I knew it a giant ball of smoke hit Vanillish, turning my usually bright white and blue Pokémon into a grey blob.

I couldn't help but laugh as a now very dirty Vanillish turned to me with a look of shock on its features. I glanced back up at Talace and gave him a disapproving look. I could tell he had become upset at the notion of me using another Pokémon in a crucial match and I frowned.

"Talace, I _am_ going to have to start using Pokémon other than you, you know."

Talace crossed his arms and snorted, obviously not happy with my new proposal.

I chuckled, "I'll use Vanillish in this match…"

Talace roared and I waited for him to quiet.

"And I'll use you if he faints."

Talace's eye twitched slightly before he reluctantly nodded. I smiled.

"Alrighty then, are you all ready?"

All of my Pokémon let out happy sounds and I returned all but Talace and Vanillish to their balls. After the long task of cleaning off Vanillish he was once again quite sparkly and I returned him as well, stuffing his pokeball into my bag. I turned to Talace and smiled, enlarging his ball.

"You know I love you, but I _do_ have battle with other Pokémon you know. I don't think you can take on the Elite Four, Champion, and N all by yourself."

Talace grunted and grinned and I could tell he was saying that he believed he could.

I rolled my eyes before returning him to his ball and once again snapping it into the necklace. I smiled. I absolutely loved having Talace's ball so close to my heart. He was my first, and would always be the one I was closest to.

I quickly packed the rest of my things and in less than five minutes I was back out on the streets of Opelucid City. I weaved around buildings for a while, marveling at the scenery before I was standing in front of the gym.

This would be my last gym battle, my last badge, my last checkpoint before I had to move onto what really seemed to count. I sighed, a jolt of excitement shooting through my body before pushing open the doors to the gym.

I quickly assessed my surroundings and my eyes widened. This gym was larger than any I had been in before. The lighting was extremely dim and I found myself having to squint to see even a few feet in front of myself. I was standing on a small platform and in front of me was what looked to be a large stone dragon head. But what I was focused on, was below the stone dragon was black abyss. The platform ended about ten feet in front of me and it looked like a large drop-off.

"Welcome!" I heard the unmistakable voice of Clyde bellow. I smiled as he walked towards me and once again gave me a bottle of water. It never failed to baffle me how he could _always_ be there, no matter what gym I was challenging. He was one talented man.

"Well, you made it. This is the biggest challenge for trainers in Unova. The eighth and hardest gym to beat," he said, looking proud. Afterwards he quickly explained the challenge I would have to face in order to challenge the gym leader. Apparently I was supposed to walk on the various stone dragons, and somehow someway they would lead me to Iris.

I was nervous about balancing on those things, as I was not one for having a good center of gravity; but I was pleased to finally find out which gym leader I would be facing.

Over the next hour and a half I scaled the large statues. At times they would move, either placing me upwards onto another platform, or dropping me downwards to another path. It was one gigantic maze and I found myself extremely confused. However, somehow I finally stumbled my way onto the right path, and now I was standing in front of Iris, who looked a bit amused.

"Well I'm glad you made it safely. I am the Opelucid City gym leader."

She then leaned forward, excitement in her eyes, "Tell me, what Pokémon are you using? How will you battle?"

I made a face and she giggled, "Well I just guess I'll have to wait and find out!" she said with a grin.

"Fraxure, come on out!"

I widened my eyes and quickly grabbed Vanillish's ball as well, calling him out.

Iris grinned, " So and ice type eh?"

"Dragon Dance!" she called.

Vanillish glanced back at me, confused as I didn't give an immediate order. I simply nodded, waiting. Dragon Dance wouldn't do any damage. Sure enough a moment later a red haze appeared around the Fraxure, spiraling towards the ceiling before disappearing once again.

"Alright, Ice Beam!" I called and Vanillish reacted quickly, sending the beam of crystal clear ice hurtling towards the dragon.

"Dodge and use Dragon Rage!" Iris called.

The Fraxure barely skidded out of the way in time but managed and quickly fired off a large light blue beam of mist.

I grinned, "Hah, Mirror Coat!" I yelled, my hands clenching into fists.

Vanillish let out a jingle and just before the beam hit him he began to sparkle. The beam stopped in its tracks, freezing for a moment before curving backwards and shooting back towards the Fraxure. It slammed into the dragon before it had time to react and I sighed in relief.

"Alright, Frost Breath!" I called and Vanillish nodded before huffing out an icy cold blast of air. Iris frantically called out for her Pokémon to dodge but it was too slow, and the blast of wind, which had now formed ice crystals in the center, blew into the Fraxure.

I let out a small yip of joy when I saw that that attack had easily pushed the dragon past its limit and it lay limp, fainted on the stone floor.

Iris called back her Pokémon, her eyes wide before quickly sending out her next.

"Druddigon, come on out! "

I smiled at the new Pokémon. He was quite large, and even more intimidating than his former team mate.

"Revenge!" Iris called and my breath caught in my throat. I never thought a Dragon type would have a Fighting type move, one that Vanillish would be weak against.

I quickly wracked my brain as the Druddigon began hurtling towards my Pokémon. Suddenly I felt something click and quickly called out to my ice type.

"Use Frost Breath and spin in a circle."

I could almost see the look of confusion on Vanillish's face but he obeyed and quickly spun around, the icy wind protruding from him. I grinned as the attack did exactly what I had hoped. By spinning the Frost Breath would encapsulate Vanillish, and so Druddigon couldn't attack Vanillish without getting hurt itself.

But this dragon was determined and braced itself as it hurled itself into the icy shield, smashing into my Pokémon as well. Vanillish was thrown backwards and Druddigon slid backwards a few feet as well. The dragon was shaking and I could tell it was definitely feeling the effects of the attack.

My gaze quickly snapped over to Vanillish who was now struggling to get back up.

"You can do it!" I encouraged and I saw a slight smile on my Pokémon's face before it flashed a bright white. Recently I had had so many Pokémon evolutions take place that I thought I would be getting used to them by now, but as Vanillish began to morph in form, I realized I wouldn't _ever_ not be amazed by the process of evolution.

A second later the light dimmed and I grinned. Vanillish before had looked like a singular ice cream cone, but now it looked like two ice cream cones hooked together, and had not one but two faces. It let out a chirp and a smile and I chuckled.

"Alright then Vanilluxe" I said, trying to quickly get used to the new name, "You ready?"

Vanilluxe spun around and grinned, letting out a jingle.

"Okay then, Ice Beam!"

The large beam of frosted ice was much larger this time, and much much faster. It sped towards the Druddigon at a speed I didn't know was possible and before Iris or I could react, it had slammed into the dragon, pushing it backwards and against the wall to the gym. When the ice attack stopped the Druddigon was easily knocked out, and now frozen to the wall.

'Oops' I thought to myself, hoping I hadn't overdone it.

"Uh, Druddigon, return," Iris called with an odd look on her face. She snapped the pokeball back into her belt before calling out her last Pokémon. A gigantic Pokémon appeared and I looked in awe at the creature. A Haxorus; one of the most beautiful Pokémon I had ever seen.

"Okay Dragon Dance!" Iris called and once again the red mist appeared and spiraled around the dragon.

"Frost Breath!" I called and once again the wind containing daggers of ice hurtled towards the dragon.

"Dragon Tail!" Iris called and the Haxorus' tail glowed before smashing into the wind, causing the attack to only hit it partially. However as I saw the Haxorus quickly shudder, and lean down a bit I knew that it had been frozen.

"Perfect, Flash Cannon!" I called.

Iris much to my surprise didn't call a move as the large ball of light slammed into her Pokémon. Instead she smiled slightly and then called her attack after Vanillish was through.

"Dragon Tail again!"

The Haxorus moved at a very impressive speed, and I quickly called out to my Pokémon.

"Dodge!"

My Vanilluxe skidded to the side, just before the tail smashed the ground where it had been floating, but much to my surprise the dragon's tail kept moving, sweeping across the floor and eventually slamming into Vanilluxe.

"No!" I cried as my Pokémon flew backwards, hitting the wall with an immense force. I felt my heart drop as I saw a few splinters of ice fly off of my Pokémon before it slid to the ground in a heap.

I quickly returned Vanilluxe and told him what an amazing job he had done. I glared across the field, then glancing at the floor where the chips that came off of Vanilluxe were slowly melting. I growled, wanting to really make an impact.

I yanked Talace's ball out of the necklace and threw it up in the air. After the usual bright flash Talace roared, standing at the ready.

"Head Smash!" I yelled, wanting to use Talace's most powerful move in hopes of ending this battle quickly.

Talace pushed off of the ground and jumped into the air, then positioning himself towards the Haxorus and hurtling downwards, head first into the dragon. My eyes widened. Iris hadn't even had time to call a move; that was definitely faster than I had ever seen Talace move before. I saw him look at me out of the corner of his eye and smirk; and I could almost hear him telling me that he was capable of beating _any_ opponent.

I chuckled as Talace landed with a boom, but on his feet. The Haxorus was thrown backwards and to the ground, but somehow managed to get up.

"Dragon Tail!" Iris shouted and I grinned as the dragon's tail glowed white once again.

"Grab it Talace!"

I saw Iris' eyes widen and I smirked as the large tail of the Haxorus was caught easily within Talace's iron grasp.

"Now send it flying!" I yelled. I didn't even need to call the names of the moves with Talace anymore. He knew when I said that, that I mean to use Arm Thrust, and indeed I did.

He lifted the Haxorus slightly with one arm before quickly slamming a gigantic fist into it, the large Pokemon flying across the gym and smashing into a giant statue of a dragon, shattering it to pieces. Dust filled the air and I had to squint, but sure enough as the air cleared the Haxorus was out cold.

I chuckled excitedly to myself before returning Talace and snapping his ball into the necklace once again. I felt the small red and white ball wiggle slightly and I knew that was his silent way of saying '_I told you so'_.

I chuckled and looked up as Iris called back her Pokémon and walked towards me. Much to my surprise however she had a large smile on her face.

"Wow! It was an honor battling a trainer as powerful as you! You definitely deserve this!"

She held out her hand and I took the small black and gold badge with a smile.

"The Legend Badge, proof of your win here at the Opelucid Gym. Now you have all eight, little hero, good luck!" she said with a giggle and a wave.

I waved as well, gently placing the badge into the last slot in my case. I sighed and ran my fingers over all eight.

I had done it, all eight gyms, all eight badges, not losing even once. I made a face. Usually trainers lost many times when challenging gyms, and sometimes they weren't _ever_ able to beat one. So why had I done it so easily? My eyebrows raised, maybe I _was_ really something special. Maybe I _was_ good enough to be a hero.

I once again glanced down at the badges. Cress, Lenora, Burgh, Elesa, Clay, Skyla, Brycen, and Iris, all defeated at my hand. And now, I had the proof and the pass to challenge the Elite Four and the Champion.

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**A/N: Okey doke, so there it is, I hope you liked it! Thank you all again for the reviews, I absolutely love ****_any_**** of them you can spare.**

**OH! Real quick, I also just put up a poll, and I would ****_love_**** it if you answered; it would ****_really_**** help me out!**

**Have a great week you guys! :D**


	56. Delaying

**So chapter 56 it is! Oh my goodness guys, I haven't updated this in almost three weeks! What is wrong with me? I have been really planning out the rest of this story, and what I'm going to do, and how I am going to wrap things up, so that is why this chapter is so late! And then I come back with a transitioning chapter, so just a bit of fluff and stuff. But I ****_do_**** have something important to say.**

**Lately school has been really picking up and not only that but I have enrolled in some extra credit courses as well. So now I have way more than a full course load to take on. Plus with the weather slowly warming up extra curricular activities and fun stuff with school will be picking up as well. So from now until the end of thes school year I am going to be quite busy. Anyway, I usually try to update this story once a week, however I am switching it to once every other week just to give myself some leeway. **

**I don't know if that will be right anyway. It might be only one week in between, or three, or a day, or a month, who the heck knows. Lol! Anyway, I promised myself I'd never be that person who updated their profile with how far along they are with a chapter, but, I am going to be that person... I know... I'm sorry. So if you are ever bored or curious I will now have my progress with this and my other stories on my profile page, near the bottom!**

**Holy crap, sorry for the rambles!**

**Anywho, I hope you enjoy! :D**

* * *

_**Chapter 56: Delaying**_

I walked out the doors to the gym with my head held high, proud of my newest accomplishment. I sighed and looked to my right just in time to hear a voice calling out my name.

I turned the other direction to see Professor Juniper walking towards me quickly with a large smile on her face.

"Hi White!" she exclaimed, sounding almost giddy.

'She's been spending too much time around Bianca' I thought to myself.

"Listen, I just had to come over and tell you the new news! We finally found out something about what will awaken Zekrom!"

I nearly choked on my surprise. I had wondered what it would take for Zekrom to awaken, and I had come up with many theories, all of which were probably utter nonsense.

"It appears that the legendary dragon Pokémon will awaken when it recognizes someone's strength."

I thought for a moment before nodding. Yes, that would probably explain it. N was at his peak when Reshiram appeared. My hand made its way down to my bag where the Dark Stone was laying and I pondered for a moment.

When would he recognize my strength? I had just beaten all eight gyms, surely that would've been enough. My heart once again dropped as the possibility of me not being the hero inched its way into my mind again.

I think Juniper caught onto this because she put a hand on my shoulder and smiled.

"And aren't you more impressive than anybody? Look at that, all eight badges. You've changed a lot since you left Nuvema Town, White. You are a much stronger person."

I gave her a smile back and nodded. Everyone else seemed so sure, but I just still wasn't convinced.

"Anyway!" she sang, taking down her hand and throwing her arm around my shoulders, "Now that you have eight badges I should probably tell you about what's next."

I craned my neck to look up at her and I saw her grin once again.

"So next is Route 10," she said, pointing to a street sign with an arrow pointing to the left, "And when you reach the end of that route, which is rather short, you will come across the official Badge Check Gates. There will be eight gates, and at each one they will check to make sure you have the respective badge. Anyway, once that is cleared it is Victory Road time for you! Victory Road holds many rare Pokémon and is also quite a prime location for training. And then after you make your way through Victory Road, you will encounter the Pokémon League."

Juniper stopped suddenly, sighing, almost in awe of what she had just said.

"And then you know what the Pokémon League entails," she said, smiling down at me and removing her arm from my shoulders.

I nodded, this time a feeling of excitement biting away at my nerves. The Pokémon League. My ticket to becoming the Champion, something that had somehow become a dream of mine along my journey.

"I remember when I was first giving you your Pokémon. You chose Tepig, and I can see now that you have a very powerful Emboar."

I scrunched my eyebrows together. How did she know? She winked and I could tell she was actually just going on a hunch.

"Anyway, I'm very glad now that I did choose you and Cheren and Bianca to be the ones to receive those Pokémon," she said with another wink before saluting and turning around.

"Oh, and White," she said, turning back to me, "Good luck with that dragon of yours."

I couldn't help but chuckle and nod as she turned and once again walked away, a happy pep in her step.

I sighed and turned back to the sign that had Route 10 painted carefully on its surface and felt a pang of feeling in my gut. Nervousness? No. Excitement? No.

I pondered the feeling for a moment and finally realized it was a sort of panic. I was about to challenge the Elite Four and the Champion. And not only that but N as well. I wasn't ready for _any_ of that. My Pokémon weren't ready either.

But ironically what was holding me back the most was a sense of dread. I was having to challenge N. After our battle, whenever it may be, we would have a winner and a loser. I blinked a few times. Whichever way the tables turned we would have a loser, one person who was not happy.

I shook my head slightly. What if our relationship couldn't withstand that?

I suddenly didn't want to battle, I didn't want to find out who was right. I wanted everything to stay the way it had been for the past year; happy and exciting.

I took a deep breath, finally managing to shove all thoughts regarding what lay ahead out of my mind.

"White!" The voice of the man I had just been thinking about broke me out of my depression and I felt a smile grace my features. N always made me happy, no matter how down in the dumps I felt.

I turned around and he skidded to a halt about a foot in front of me with a grin on his face.

"So how'd it go?" he asked, his eyes gleaming.

I took out my badge case and proudly held it up with outstretched arms like a child showing a parent what they had drawn.

"That's wonderful!" he exclaimed, pushing past the case and encircling me in a hug. I smiled and hugged him back. We stayed in that position for a few minutes, much longer than a regular hug and when we pulled back I saw N had a downtrodden look on his face.

I frowned and stuffed the badge case back into my bag. Just as I was about to ask him what was wrong he slowly started talking.

"So are you going to challenge the Pokémon League now?" He looked up at me through his eyelashes with sad eyes and in that moment I realized he had come to the same conclusion I had just mere moments ago.

He knew our battle would trigger something between us. Most likely something unpleasant.

I smiled slightly, "Naw, I'm not ready yet. I still have a lot of work to do with my Pokémon."

His face immediately lightened and he beamed down at me with a goofy expression. "Do you want to have a fun day today?" he asked.

I gave him a confused look.

"You know, just laying around and having fun. No stress?"

I chuckled and nodded, "But N. Listen, you have to promise me something," I blurted out quickly, wanting to set something straight.

He nodded.

"When _you_ go to challenge the Pokémon League, you have to let me know."

I knew it was a damper on the newly lightened mood but I needed to know when N was moving on. It was crucial that I wasn't far behind, or even more preferably, ahead of him.

He nodded and grabbed my hand, still apparently in a happy mood.

"Where do you want to go today?" he asked, shoving his other hand into his pocket.

"Well, I had to skip over Route 9 really quickly the other day because of Alder. So I was planning on going back to it and catching any Pokémon I missed!" I said happily.

N stayed quiet and I glanced up at him to see a frown plastered on his features.

I sighed, "I know you don't like it when people capture Pokémon N, but please come with me."

His lips pursed into a tight line but he nodded slightly once. I sighed in relief and looked forward to see the terminal that would lead to Route 9 just ahead.

I felt my eyebrows scrunch together. Why was N so opposed to pokeballs if he used them himself? He captured those Pokémon, so why is he so against it? Though knowing N he probably coaxed the Pokémon into the pokeballs using his freakish talent.

I chucked at the thought and N gave me a confused look. I shook my head as we entered the terminal.

* * *

"That was fun!" I exclaimed, plopping down in the deep and lusciously green grass.

N chuckled and sat down across from me, throwing out a blanket in between us.

We had traveled across the route, (well, more like me dragging N around) and I had caught a Pawniard, which to me made the trip more than worth the while.

N had suggested we go in the gigantic mall across from the route instead but I had declined. I wasn't interested in shopping when new and mysterious Pokémon lay just across the street.

Now we had made our way deep into the forest and found a clearing. The grass was ridiculously long because no one mowed this far back and for some reason I found it amusing.

I clumsily climbed onto the blanket and it sank a good half a foot due to my weight. N climbed on the other side and it did the same. He pulled out a container and revealed a delicious lunch.

I grabbed a small sandwich cut into a triangle and chomped down on it.

"Reshiram, come out," I heard N say quietly and I almost spit out my sandwich.

"What if someone sees him?" I questioned.

N shook his head, "We are _way_ too far back for that to be an issue. Plus, he hasn't been out of his ball in almost a day."

I nodded and looked over to where Reshiram had now materialized and was stretching out his wings. After a moment he nestled his giant white arms back to his sides and his focus landed on me. He let out a happy purr and slammed his head into my chest. It pushed me back a few feet and I let out surprised, 'oof' but managed to keep my balance while still grasping onto my sandwich.

"Be careful with her," I heard N say in a surprisingly protective tone.

I hadn't seen Reshiram much but he had definitely taken a liking to me, and he had greeted me with happiness, but had just underestimated his power.

I hugged his giant white head and gently stroked the long white fur which was softer than any Cinccino's.

He soon removed his head and settled down next to us as we continued eating.

"So catching Pokémon wasn't that bad now was it?" I asked playfully. By the end of our little run through Route 9 N actually seemed to be enjoying himself.

He smiled, "I guess not."

I quickly released all of my Pokémon as well and brought out some of Brock's Pokémon food to give to them. All but Talace seemed a bit startled by Reshiram's appearance but with a quick explanation from N and myself they settled in quickly.

I sighed, taking a gulp of lemonade.

"I didn't actually catch all of them you know," I said, looking up at N.

His gaze snapped up and he gave me a confused look.

"Well," I started, "Vanilluxe and Chandelure actually _wanted_ to be my Pokémon."

I remembered back to the day when I had camped out near Cold Storage to eat lunch and an all too curious and hungry Vanillite had floated over to me, just to get attached and follow me around until I let it inside a pokeball.

I smiled, also bringing myself back to the first time I had been in Celestial Tower and I had commonly mistaken Litwick for a regular candle. Needless I had been a bit creeped out, but as I proudly announced that I wanted to have a battle to capture it, it had cut me off mid-sentence and gladly thrown itself inside of the pokeball in my hand.

"What do you mean?" N asked.

I shrugged, "It was their choice to be inside a pokeball and have a trainer."

N's eyes widened further, "What about the other ones?"

I turned to look at my team. Yes, Vanilluxe and Chandelure had gladly come along with me, but the other stories weren't all the same.

"Well, Talace was of course my first, so he was simply given to me."

My gaze moved on to Excadrill and I smiled, "Excadrill was actually the one to challenge _me_ to a battle."

I remembered the day the small Drilbur had popped up out of the ground, almost knocking me over and proudly squeaked, letting me know he challenged me to a match.

I then looked over to Klinklang and Sigilyph; I had become quite attached to those two, not as much as Talace, but a bit more than the others. I couldn't ever compare my Pokémon's relationships with me however. I had a different relationship with each one, and so I would never be able to choose favorites.

"Well, Sigilyph and Klinklang both put up incredible fights. They were both actually two of the hardest to catch. But they came around to being my Pokémon quickly," I added.

Klinklang let out a high pitched noise and spun his gears rapidly, obviously agreeing. Sigilyph floated closer, rubbing my cheek affectionately before floating back over to his food.

N looked a bit perplexed when I glanced back over at him, but soon a look of something close to proudness engulfed his features.

"C'mere," he said, motioning for me to sit by him. I obliged and crawled over the blanket, making loud crunching sounds on the grass below.

He gently pulled me into his lap and into a hug. I smiled and wrapped my arms around him as well, gently toying with his hair.

He pulled back from the hug and I reluctantly did as well. But before we got too far away his lips found mine and he once again pulled me closer. I smiled into the kiss and gently put my hands on his chest as _his_ hands moved to my face, gently stroking my cheek.

We stayed with our lips interlocked for quite a while, relishing in each other's company before I was the one to pull back this time, nuzzling my head in the crook of his neck.

I heard Reshiram let out a low sound and I could almost feel N blush.

He laughed nervously, "Hey."

I chuckled as well but closed my eyes, sighing.

"N?" I questioned.

"Hm?" he answered and I felt his hand gently rubbing my back.

"Can we just have… fun days for a while?" I asked, using his term. I wanted to have a few days to ourselves. A few days where the whole hero situation wasn't an issue.

His neck moved slightly and I could tell he was smiling, "Of course we can, love."

I smiled as well, and adjusted my head on his shoulder. Sure it was the middle of the day, sure we had just eaten lunch, but I was extremely tired.

In the past few hours I had been on an emotional rollercoaster ride and now I found myself quite tired.

I adjusted my head again, taking a deep breath, smelling the sweet scent N always had. He began rocking slightly and awkwardly and I could tell he was fine with it if I fell asleep.

My lips twitched into a smile before I gently nodded off.

* * *

**A/N: So there it is! I hope you enjoyed it! So as I said next one should be in around two weeks, possibly earlier. Thank you all for the reviews as well, I absolutely adore all of them!**

**Oh and again, the poll on my profile is really giving me some insight, and it makes me happy to see what you guys think!**

**Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful week! :D**


	57. New Companions

**Chpater 57 it is! Holy crap it has almost been a month since I last updated! I sincerely apologize for that! I have been again working over this story and planning out the rest of it. I finally have the rest all mapped out now! We are actually quite close to the end. Anyway, May and Max are introduced in this one. Max is one of my favorite characters in the anime, so I'm excited. XD**

**Anyway, enjoy! :D**

* * *

_**Chapter 57: New Companions**_

I glanced down at the map in my hand and then back at the large landmass in front of me. Yep, this was definitely Hoenn up ahead.

For the past two and a half weeks I had relaxed in Unova with N, and I had to admit I was almost sad to leave. But I also wanted to see Brock again, and I knew it would be good for me to get some training time in other regions as well.

Earlier that morning I had decided I might pay Ash a visit in Hoenn before traveling back to Kanto, to see how his newest journey was coming along. The man at the gate had frowned, obviously not happy that he would actually be doing work to get me a pass. However in just under ten minutes I had the small card in hand and I was ready to go.

I stuffed the map back into my bag and nodded to myself, patting Sigilyph slightly to let him know that we would be landing soon.

I smiled, remembering the last time I had been on Sigilyph, hopelessly looking at a map trying to find Pallet Town. I had had no luck that day and ended up asking a few strangers for directions, and boy was I glad I had. I wouldn't have met Brock that day if it weren't for my horrible sense of direction.

I had gotten much more fluent with maps however and I knew exactly where I was this time.

Sigilyph lowered slightly so he was just above the trees and I squinted, looking for any sign of Ash or Pikachu. It took about fifteen minutes before I saw a large Thunderbolt attack flying through the air and I nodded, knowing an attack of that caliber could _only_ come from the small electric Pokémon Ash held so high in regard.

Sigilyph veered to the right towards the attack and before I knew it I saw Ash along with Pikachu in a small clearing. I squinted as I spied two other figures as well. One looked to be a girl, about the same age as Ash, and the other was a boy who looked to be a few years younger.

I again patted Sigilyph and he lowered to the ground. Ash's head whipped towards us and a wide grin broke out on his face.

"Hi White!" he exclaimed, standing up from the tree stump he had been sitting on.

I grinned and hopped off of Sigilyph, telling him what a great job he had done as I returned him to his ball.

Ash walked towards me and held out his hand. I quickly grasped it with mine and we shook once.

"I didn't think I'd see you for a while," he said as Pikachu hopped up on his shoulder, sending me a happy smile as well.

"I just thought I'd pay you a quick visit to see how things are coming along. I won't ever pass up a chance to visit another region you know," I said, glancing behind him to where the girl was steadily creeping towards us.

Ash grinned, "Well so far-"

"HEY, aren't you _the_ White from Unova?" The smaller boy shoved past Ash, looking up at me with something close to awe on his features.

I blinked a few times, "Uh, yeah, I guess," I said awkwardly, wondering how this boy could know who I am.

"Oh wow, I can't believe it's actually you! You just got your eighth gym badge right?"

My eyes widened, "Yeah, how did you know?"

The boy put his hands on his hips and a proud look emerged on his face, "I know about_ all_ of the great trainers, no matter what region."

"In other words, you saw it on TV," the girl said, an unamused look on her face.

"TV?" I questioned. I knew battles in the Pokémon League tournaments were televised, and a few gym battles as well. But with the strict rules in Unova we _never_ had any of our battles shown on any network.

The girl nodded, "He watches too much of it."

The boy seemed to pick up on why I was so confused.

"Well, I didn't actually get to see your battle. But they put up a few pictures of the highlights, and of course your trainer card appears on the screen so we all know who you are."

I suddenly felt self-conscious. Whatever station this was on, showed me? I had been on TV?

"They only show promising trainers, and you seem to be just AMAZING!" the boy half shouted, clasping his hands together.

"Uh…. thanks," I said, laughing nervously.

Ash sighed, "Oh yeah. This is May and Max, brother and sister, they are accompanying me on my journey."

"Nice to meet you," May said with a smile.

"It's _amazing_ to meet you," Max said, glaring back at the girl, looking almost offended that she had said 'nice' instead of a more powerful word.

"It's nice to meet you too," I said with a wink.

"CAN I SEE YOUR POKEMON? PLEASE?" Max exclaimed, the sparkles in his eyes almost visible.

I chuckled. This kid sure was a Pokémon fanatic, and something told me he did this to _any_ trainer he had seen on this magical TV station he had mentioned.

May growled, pushing Max aside, "Ash, we have to eat lunch first right?"

Ash again sighed, "Yes, but we've already been over this May, we don't have any food."

I almost laughed out loud. We had become so dependent on Brock that it somehow didn't surprise me that even Ash had forgotten to pack a lunch.

"Awwwww," May whined, slumping over.

"Well, that's not completely true, I have this," I heard Max say and all eyes were suddenly on him. He rustled around in his bag for a moment before retrieving a small chocolate cookie.

May was at his side in less than a second, "You wouldn't mind sharing would you?"

"I only have one," Max said sorrowfully, frowning.

"Hey, we can break it into four pieces, then we'll have one bite each," Ash said as he also walked over to Max.

"Sounds good to me!" May exclaimed, her hand already twitching towards the cookie.

"Tailow!"

Before any of us could react a flash of blue whizzed by and the cookie was gone, snatched right out of Max's grasp.

"What was that?" Ash asked, his head whipping backwards as he spied the tiny bird who was now flying away at a rapid pace.

"A Tailow!" Max exclaimed excitedly, grabbing his backpack and high tailing it after the bird.

May and Ash were quick to follow and I quickly snatched my bag as well, skidding out of my standing position and into a full blown sprint to keep up with the three hungry travelers.

After a few minutes of whizzing this way and that, dodging trees in the process, the Tailow finally landed on a branch and munched down the last bite of the cookie, a grin on its beak.

May threw her arms up in exasperation and collapsed in a heap on the ground.

_'__And I thought Misty and I were dramatic'_ I thought to myself with a smile.

"Hey Tailow! Did you like the cookie?" Max yelled, sounding happy he had gotten to feed a wild Pokémon.

The bird nodded, the smile still on its face before it turned around, eyes widened.

I leaned backwards slightly, what was that look for? Why was it suddenly so scary looking?

It let out a screech that sounded close to anger and before I knew it the trees around us were rustling loudly. I glanced up just in time to see an entire flock of Tailow burst forth from the foliage and into the air, a look of agitation on all of their faces.

"W-why are they so angry all of a sudden?" May asked, scrambling back to her feet.

"Hmm," Max pondered for a moment before snapping his fingers, "That's it! This must be their territory and they probably aren't too happy that we are trespassing!"

I jumped as another Tailow screeched. Max seemed to be happy that he had figured out the mystery but I myself was a bit scared. Intruding on wild Pokémon's territory was never a good thing.

"Tailow!" the leader, also the one with the chocolate mustache, screeched and suddenly the entire flock was hurtling towards us.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash yelled.

Pikachu grunted out the attack and it hit the birds with full force, knocking them all to the ground.

"Whew, that was close," Max said, but he had spoken too soon.

The entire flock of birds, now laying limply on the ground, quickly stood up, easily brushing off the powerful electric attack.

"How is that possible?" Ash questioned and I had to admit I had no idea.

Electric moves are incredibly effective against flying types, and those Tailow should have been down for the count. But here they were, again dive bombing us.

"Uh," Ash stuttered, stepping back a few paces, his eyes wide.

I closed my eyes, waiting for the impact. I had never been hit by an attack, but I figured this was now going to be my first encounter.

I waited for it, and just as the sound of flapping wings became almost deafening, another sound broke through the air.

"Forretress, Explosion!"

My breath caught. I knew that voice.

"Fore," I heard the Pokémon call before a loud boom echoed out in front of us.

I peered out carefully and saw the flock of Tailow lying limp on the ground once again, but this time they wouldn't be getting up so quickly. My head snapped up as soon as I saw the figure that had called the attack and suddenly my heart raced.

"Brock!" I exclaimed happily, quickly darting around the three shocked people in front of me.

"White?" Brock questioned, looking almost surprised.

I plowed into him to grasp him in a hug and smiled. His arms soon snaked around me as well and squeezed tightly.

I pulled back slightly, "Thanks, you sorta saved us there," I said, a smile in my voice.

Brock beamed, "I did, didn't I," he said, his chest puffing out in pride.

I rolled my eyes slightly before planting a kiss on his cheek and turning back around to where Ash, May and Max were standing.

"Hey, it's Brock," Ash said, blinking rapidly.

* * *

"MMMM!" May squealed, quickly shoveling more stew into her mouth.

Brock had saved the day once again by cooking up a delicious meal, and we all now sat around a small fire, slurping up the wonderful dish.

"Glad you like it," Brock said with a grin as he sat down next to me.

Ash however wasn't eating, but carefully turning a pokeball over in his hands, smiling down at its shining surface.

The leader of the Tailow had found us a while after we had left and promptly challenged Pikachu and Ash to a battle. It was quite a close match but in the end Ash had actually captured the Tailow, impressed by how hardy and determined it was.

"Come on out!" Ash called, not able to contain his excitement any longer.

The small bird landed on the rocks beside us and breathed heavily as it took in its surroundings, still winded from its capture battle.

"Here," Brock said, spraying a potion on the wounded Pokémon.

Within moments the Tailow had been completely healed and Ash had wiped the chocolate off of its face.

"Oh man, I can't wait till I get to catch my own Pokémon," Max said with a hint of longing in his voice.

Ash nodded, "Yeah, Pokémon are great," he said as Tailow happily climbed onto his shoulder.

"Oh! White, I never got to see your Pokémon!" Max exclaimed, slapping his forehead.

I nodded, digging around till I had all five pokeballs. I called out my Pokémon and I swore Max could've fallen over with shock. He shook as he stood and slowly made his way towards them.

"Can I touch them?" he asked.

"Sure thing," I answered, picking my bowl of stew up once again.

Max eagerly made his way to each of my Pokémon, stray 'wows' and 'amazings' escaping his mouth as he examined each one. He soon turned back to me though and frowned.

"On TV it showed you with Vanilluxe, and an Emboar."

"Oh!" I said, realizing I had forgotten to let Talace out. I could tell that Talace was ultimately the one Max wanted to see. It was probably easy to tell he was my first and most powerful, even if it was only displayed in pictures on a screen.

A flash of white signaled his arrival and he roared, stretching out his giant limbs. I hadn't let him out in almost two days now, and I knew he was probably stiff from being cooped up that long.

"Wow," Max squeaked as he was swallowed by Talace's shadow.

My large Emboar glanced down at the boy and grunted, obviously noticing exactly how amazed Max was as well. I could also tell Talace liked the attention.

He turned his head to the side and shot a large ball of flames, which went hurtling through the air and sizzled as they hit the stream nearby.

"That's….so…. COOL!" Max exclaimed, his entire body shaking.

I chuckled as Talace grinned, proud he had a fan.

"Is he your strongest?" Max asked, his eyes never leaving the large fire Pokémon in front of him.

I nodded, "Yup."

"Unless you count the hero's dragon," Ash said absentmindedly, now digging into a bowl of stew of his own.

"ASH!" I said, my eyes widening.

"What?" he asked, his voice gargling slightly as he didn't take time to slow down his slurping.

"You can't just blurt that out to random people!"

Ash shrugged, "Sorry," he said, not sounding regretful in the least.

"The hero's dragon… like the one in the legend of Unova?" Max questioned, his eyes now glued to me.

I sighed and nodded. It figured that a fanatic like him would know everything about every legendary as well. Even the ones as rare as Reshiram and Zekrom.

"But why would you have….unless…" Max trailed off and I could tell he was putting together the pieces.

His eyes widened and locked with mine, "Unless you are one of the heroes!"

I nodded and tapped my nose, letting him know he was spot on.

"OH MY GOD!" Max yelled. His legs flew out and he was suddenly bracing himself.

"What are you doing?" I asked, watching as he frantically looked around, his gaze whipping all around the entire area.

"Where is it?" he asked.

I shook my head, "I'd like to show it to you," I said, pausing and looking over at my bag, "If it ever decides to show up!" I said, directing my voice at the Dark Stone.

I grinned, somehow knowing Zekrom was chuckling at my comment.

Max tilted his head to the side.

"He's still in his stone, he hasn't been awakened yet," I explained.

Max's mouth made a perfect O as he nodded his understanding. Man this kid was well versed.

For the rest of the day we relaxed at the side of the stream. Ash trained with his new Pokémon and I sat back with Brock to watch. Max played with my Pokémon while his sister tried desperately to get her Torchic to behave.

As the moon slowly showed its face and the sky grew dim we all settled down once again.

"Alright Torchic, return," May said, looking worn out.

I turned to Brock who was slowly rolling out our sleeping bag, "I'm guessing she just got that Torchic?" I asked.

Brock shrugged, "I think so, but your guess is as good as mine."

I nodded, realizing he had been around the new traveling recruits for just about as long as I had, so he wouldn't have any more information.

He slipped inside the bag and patted beside him with a grin.

I rolled my eyes before climbing in and feeling Brock zip it up behind me. I wiggled slightly, getting comfortable before sighing and snuggling into Brock's chest.

"I was planning on heading to Kanto to see you, you know," I said absentmindedly.

I could almost feel Brock smile, "I know sweetheart."

I nodded and let my mind wander. I loved traveling, and I had to admit as much as I was happy to have all eight badges, I was a bit sad that I didn't really have anywhere else to go in my home region. I knew there were a few towns past the Pokémon League that I hadn't ever visited, but none with gyms.

But then again I was sort of glad that I had completed it all. I had worked so hard, and it was nice to have something that was proof. Plus, with the Elite Four, Champion, and the whole N situation ahead I knew my journey was far from over.

"I love you, White." Brock's voice pulled me out of my thoughts and back into a calm state of mind.

"I love you too, Brock," I said, once again adjusting my head until I was comfortable.

I was happy. I was happy with Brock. I was happy with N. And I was happy with just about everything in between as well, and that was what I needed to focus on.

I was going to train my Pokémon, and spend time with the ones I held close, and really, that's all I needed.

* * *

**A/N: So there it is! I hope you enjoyed. Again, hopefully the next chapters will be coming much sooner than this one did. And thank you for any reviews you give! :D**

**I hope you have a great weekend! **


	58. Resigning to Fate

**Chapter 58! Holy crap has it been a long time since I've updated! And I can guarentee it won't happen again! I've finally got everything in order and so updates should be every week or every other week now! **

**Also, after this chapter, there will only be three more! Gah, I'm getting all sentimental, about to finish my first story. *tear***

**I apologize if this chapter seems a little odd or off, my sentimental attitude is rubbing off onto it, haha! I also wanted to spend more time in Hoenn... but I decided against it. **

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy!**

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_**Chapter 58: Resigning to Fate**_

"Look Max, a Poliwag!" I heard Ash yell, now leading over a stream with his face only inches from the newly discovered water Pokémon.

"Oh cool!" Max shouted, skidding out of the forest and over to Ash's side.

I smiled to myself, beginning to get used to these situations. However usually _I_ was in Ash's shoes, pointing out a Pokémon for Max to find.

I was just about as excited about Pokémon as Max was, especially the new ones in Hoenn that I had never gotten a chance to see before. So needless to say, Max and I had become the best of friends, much to everyone's surprise.

"Be careful Max, don't fall in," May called from her spot farther down the stream.

"Don't worry, I will!" Max called back, the loud sound scaring the Poliwag, causing it to make a quick dive underwater and swim away.

Max plopped down and pouted, obviously unhappy.

"Tor-Torchic!" May's small bird Pokémon chirped, dancing around Max, trying to cheer him up. And soon enough it worked.

I smiled to myself again, looking at the ground. It hadn't taken long for us to fall into a routine, just like Ash, Brock, Misty, and I had had. I was truly enjoying Hoenn so far and I knew my traveling companions were as well. We had done everything together. Walked, slept, talked, trained our Pokémon; everything.

Ash had already obtained his second badge and we were on our way to the third gym now. May had discovered she actually had a hidden passion for contests, and so we were trying to keep up with those as well. Every day was a busy one, and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

It had been three months since I had first arrived in Hoenn. Every week or two I would travel back to Unova to see N. And then another week of two after that I would come on back to Hoenn. I liked the change in scenery every once in a while, and this way I was able keep up to date with both Brock and N equally.

My Pokémon were benefitting greatly as well. I had copious amounts of time to train when I was in Unova since I wasn't on the road to find another gym. I had considered a few times challenging the Elite Four, but every time I would silently chicken out.

Plus N hadn't made any mention of trying to take the next step in his liberation plans, which would also be challenging the Elite Four, and so that gave me some sort of comfort to know I wasn't behind him at all.

"Hey, White!" Max's voice snapped me out of my thoughts as he plopped down across from me to sit on Ash's backpack.

"Hm?" I answered, blinking a few times to take myself out of my thoughts.

"When are you going back to Unova?" he asked, sparkles in his eyes.

Max couldn't wait for the day I'd challenge the Elite Four. He had his mind made up that I would beat the Champion easily, and he couldn't wait for the news that he actually personally knew the Champion of a region.

"Well I've been here for about a week and a half, so I should head back any time now."

I heard Brock grunt from beside me and my lips twitched into a smile.

"But I guess I could stay a _little_ longer."

Max nodded and got to his feet once again, now chasing after a stray Pidgey.

I sighed and looked back down to the ground.

"You're delaying, White."

My head snapped up and over to look at Brock whose gaze was fixed on preparing the meal in front of him.

"W-what do you mean?" I stuttered, already knowing the answer.

Brock sighed, "You don't want to battle N, and these last few months of traveling have been you trying to postpone it."

I cringed slightly. Of course he was right, I didn't want to battle N. I knew my Pokémon were itching to move on, and I knew they were ready, but I just wasn't prepared for confronting N officially regarding not only our beliefs, but our status as heroes. Plus, Zekrom hadn't made any move to show himself and that was also holding me back. Would it really be a fair fight if N had Reshiram and I didn't have Zekrom?

"You're going to have to do it eventually. Why not just get it over with?"

Brock had a point, but I knew there was a bit of selfishness in his suggestion as well. I think he knew as well I as I did that the battle would trigger something between N and I. We would finally have our winner and loser, and I think even N knew that our relationship quite possibly couldn't handle it.

"I know," I said quietly, talking more to the ground than to Brock.

"I don't want to rush you White, but I really think you're ready. You just might as well get it over with so you finally know the answer."

I smiled slightly. It _would_ be nice for all the suspense to be over. I knew I couldn't postpone the inevitable, and eventually my brain would have to kick in, so why not now?

I took a deep breath, finally pushing away my fear that I had held for the past few months, "Alright, I should probably head back to Unova tonight then."

Brock's gaze whipped over to me, "I didn't mean you needed to do it literally _right now._"

I chuckled, "I gotta do it when I have the courage, if I wait till tomorrow to head back and tell N, I probably will chicken out again."

Brock smiled, "Alright, if that's what you think."

"If what's what you think?" Ash questioned, poking his head between us.

"I'm heading back to Unova after lunch and challenging the Pokémon League… tomorrow."

I had to tell N I was going to tonight, that way I'd be roped into actually doing it the next day.

Ash's eyes widened further than I thought was possible, "Really? Are you ready?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I am, and I think they are too," I said, motioning over to where all six of my Pokémon were quietly and peacefully napping under a tree.

"Oh boy!" Max yelled, leaping into the air, "I'm going to know a Champion!"

I laughed nervously, "Hey now, I'm trying to beat _N_, and I doubt he's strong enough to beat the Champion as it is."

Max squinted one eye, "I think a _Unovian hero_ has the strength to beat a Champion. Just sayin."

I smiled, Max did have a point.

"Well, let's hurry up and eat so she can get going," May squealed, almost as excited as her brother.

"This should be a celebration, maybe I'll break out the good Moo Moo milk," Brock said jokingly.

I rolled my eyes and snatched a sandwich off his tray.

* * *

Unova; the region of diversity. Also my home for the past almost seventeen years of my life. Never once had I been afraid to be in Unova, and yet now as I saw the landmass in the distance my hands began to tremble.

Maybe it was nerves, maybe it was even a hint of excitement, but it was making me a mess.

I took one deep breath, trying to remind myself that Sigilyph could pick up on what I was feeling, and I didn't want to stress him out.

I had gotten a very warm farewell from my Hoenn traveling partners, all wishing me luck and telling me to call them when I heard anything. They said they'd be routing for me all the way, and couldn't wait for the news on how I did.

I smiled. I had so many friends that were looking out for me. So many friends that wished me luck in all of my endeavors. It was great.

The man who always checked my pass simply waved to me from the ground, letting me know I didn't need to stop and I waved back, shouting a 'thank you' down to him.

Lost in thought the time seemed to fly and before I knew it I was back in Opelucid City. Sigilyph landed soundlessly and I hopped off, recalling him to his pokeball before scuttling into the Pokémon center and grabbing a room key from Nurse Joy.

I had already called N on my flight to Unova and he had said he would meet me in the Pokémon Center, but I had no idea when that would be.

I opened the door and quietly closed it behind me, dropping my bag to the floor in the process. Once again I was brought back to the comfortable feeling of these Pokémon center rooms. The wood floors, the puffy couches, all I saw were memories of my journey as I looked at them.

"Well, while I'm waiting for N, might as well break the news to my Pokémon," I said to myself, picking back up my bag and fishing around until I had all five pokeballs in my hand.

Soon they were out in the room, along with Talace and looking at me expectantly.

"Um, listen guys, I have an announcement," I said, my nervousness giving way to excitement now.

My Pokémon let out a few chirps and roars, letting me know I had their interest.

"I-I'm planning on heading on over to the Pokémon League tomorrow and finally challenging the Elite Four and… N."

There was a brief pause, silence hanging in the air and suddenly I wondered if _they_ were nervous, or wondering if we all were ready. But after a moment, loud sounds echoed out in the room and my Pokémon began to let on exactly how long they had waited for this moment.

Excadrill began happily dancing around the room, awkwardly trying to spin in circles, which only resulted in him dizzily falling to the floor. Vanilluxe and Klinklang circled around each other, pure bliss in their eyes. Sigilyph and Chandelure tried to give each other a high five (I think), which was not only an odd sight to see, but it ended with a burn to one of Sigilyph's wings.

Talace roared his approval before crushing me in a hug, my feet a couple inches off the ground.

"What's the celebration for?"

I froze momentarily as N's voice seemed to echo in the room.

Talace let go of me immediately and the rest of my Pokémon silenced, noticing the tension.

"What?" N questioned, looking confused.

"Hi N," I said quietly, "Um, here, sit down," I said, plopping down on the couch behind me and patting the seat to my right.

He gave me a hesitant look but followed my request and gently sat down beside me.

"Why are you guys celebrating?" he asked again.

"Well, uh, you see," I stuttered slightly before taking a deep breath, "I've decided to challenge the Pokémon League tomorrow."

I had blurted the last part out so quickly I wondered if N understood, but as a slight smile spread across his face I knew he had.

"Th-that's great White," he said, his tone of voice saying otherwise.

His eyes held sorrow and I frowned slightly. Both of us knew it would have to come to this, but I think we both weren't ready for it. We never would be.

I sighed and looked back to my Pokémon who were intently watching the interaction.

"Yup," I said, trying to put a happy tone into my voice, "I'll head on over to challenge the Elite Four tomorrow morning, and I'm assuming after that…." I trailed off.

"We'll have our battle," N finished, looking at the ground.

I nodded.

N's gaze snapped over to me, "So did Zekrom…"

I shook my head, "No, but I don't know if he will, and so I can't postpone this forever."

N nodded, smiling slightly now.

I could tell we were both a little excited, and yet we were both also dreading it.

"So I take it you'll be challenging the Elite Four as well?" I asked.

He nodded, "Yep, it should be a busy day for us both."

Awkward silence filled the room for a minute before a loud grunt was heard. I looked up to Talace.

"He says he's disappointed we're depressed at an exciting time like this," N said, a smile in his voice.

I chuckled, "Well, I know _you're_ looking forward to it Talace, but I'm a bit… nervous."

Talace waved one arm around in the air, snorting.

I didn't need translation to know he was saying that as long as I had him I'd be just fine.

For the rest of the night we relaxed, apparently ignoring the elephant in the room, and it was beginning to eat away at me.

Surely N knew we would be fighting _against_ each other tomorrow. Surely he would have _something_ to say about that. But seemingly he didn't as the rest of the night went like usual. We ate dinner from the Pokémon center's café, and watched a movie.

I told all of my Pokémon goodnight, and N did the same before we retired into our bedroom.

As I changed into my pajamas I decided that if he wasn't going to say something, I was.

I flung open the bathroom door and stalked over to the bed, plopping down next to N.

He raised an eyebrow, "What's wrong love?"

I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. How was I supposed to word something like this?

I sighed, "Don't you have anything to say about our battle tomorrow?"

"Like what?" he questioned.

"I don't know. Don't you kinda feel like…" I trailed off, my hands floundering for the words, "Kinda like something bigger is going to happen?"

N paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts, "Well, yes. We _are_ finally going to find out who's right."

I nodded, "But also… about…. us?"

N nodded again, turning to me with a pained look on his face, "If I win, are you going to hate me?"

My eyes widened, "No!"

I began to ponder though. If N won, that meant all Pokémon would be taken away from every trainer. My blood began to boil at just the thought.

"Well, actually…. I might, a bit."

I felt bad for saying something as harsh as that to N. But after a moment of thought I realized it was true, I probably would be angry with him. So angry that I wasn't sure if I would _ever_ be able to feel anything _but_ anger towards him. That would definitely mean the end of any relationship we had.

As I looked back at him, now looking at the ceiling, I realized that was the answer he had expected.

I cleared my throat, "If I win, will you hate me?"

He didn't answer for a moment and I began to worry. I couldn't imagine someone like N harboring hatred for someone. And yet I had seen how passionate he was about his goals, which made me think otherwise.

"I don't know," he answered, "I'm not sure what I'd feel until it actually happened."

I nodded, it was a reasonable answer.

"Just promise me you won't go easy on me," I said, trying to put a lighthearted tone in my voice.

He chuckled and nodded.

I smiled back and we once again were put into silence.

No matter how much we wanted to avoid it, we both knew our relationship already had a death date on it. And most likely that date was tomorrow. It was like time was running out, and there wasn't any way to stop it.

Before I knew it my emotions had swelled to the surface and I jolted forward to capture N in a bone crushing hug.

He froze momentarily before hugging me back with just as much enthusiasm.

'_Don't cry White,_' I hissed to myself to no avail.

I had never cried many times in my lifetime, in fact I could quite possibly point out every single occasion. But now, I found myself crying, and I honestly didn't know why. There wasn't anything to be sad about, at least not yet, and yet I was heartbroken.

"Shhhh," N cooed, patting my back rather awkwardly.

I pulled back and quickly wiped my eyes, condemning myself for my moment of weakness.

"Hey, there's nothing to worry about," N said, cupping my face in his hands, "Who knows, maybe we'll find a way to compromise."

That forced a laugh out of me. N had no idea how to comfort someone, and so he resorted to making empty suggestions.

I nodded though, not wanting to ruin his moment as he smiled, apparently very proud he had ceased my tears and gotten me to laugh.

"I love you, N," I said, sniffing slightly.

"I love you too darling," he said, again brushing his thumb across my cheek.

My body immediately pulled forward and crushed our lips together.

The kiss N and I had that night was the longest kiss we had ever shared, and the most passionate as well. Neither of us wanted to end that kiss, because we knew when we did, we would have to go to sleep, which was almost like giving into our fate; something neither one of us wanted to do.

That night, when our kiss finally came to a close, my eyes already drooping and still damp with tears I remember very little.

I remember I felt comfortable as N wrapped his arms around me. I remember wishing that moment could last forever; I remember cursing that it couldn't.

I remember that I knew when I woke up N wouldn't be there, and that he would be out trying to make his dream come true, just like I would soon after. I remember I knew when I woke up the next morning N and I would no longer act like we cared for each other like we did, we would be acting as two people with a goal in mind. We would be fighting _against_ each other.

But what I remember most about that night, was the slight hint of excitement, and knowing that the next day would not only bring about major changes, but the next chapter in my life as well.

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**Well there it is! I hope you liked it! I once again sincerely want to thank all of you that have stuck with me thus far. You have no idea how much it really means to me and if I could I'd give you all a hug... or a high-five... or a Pokemon game, or whatever else you want. XD**

**Also, thank you for any reviews you throw my way, I always enjoy every single one!**

**I hope you have a great week! :D**


	59. The Elite Four

**Chapter 59! Holy Moly! Look at me, updating on time. Haha. I _do_ have two _very important_ things to say about this chapter however**

**1- This is _the_longest chapter I have ever written, and probably will ever write. I'm sorry for its length, I thought about splitting it up but then... no. Hehe. So feel free to take breaks in the middle. I _do_ hope you read it however, I actually think this one is alright, which is more than I can say about most of them. The first part might be a little off... but after that it should be good! :P**

**2- I am still trying to learn how to write battles, and since there are four of them in this one, to avoid any repetition, I did something a little different. Each Elite Four battle is split in half, in the middle you'll see these little: 0=0=0=0 things and that means we're switching to third person POV. I have four little scenes that aren't of White, but what is happening while she is battling. Two are with Ghetsis and Team Plasma, one is with N and Alder, and one is with Brock and Ash, so that way it'll split up the monotony of the battles.**

**Okay, sorry for the epically long Author's Note as well! I hope you understood all of that second thing... if not, you'll just see once you get to it. **

**Anyway, I hope you read and enjoy! And stick with me through this mammoth of a chapter! XD**

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_**Chapter 59: The Elite Four**_

My eyes fluttered for a moment before opening fully and bringing me into the world once again.

My gaze snapped to my right and just as I had suspected, N wasn't there. I sighed, sitting up and rubbing my eyes before slouching over and looking around the room. Would this be the last time I spent the night in a Pokémon center room like this?

I shook my head and reluctantly left the warm comfort of the bed. As soon as I stood up, reality and excitement hit me like a ton of bricks.

I was actually going through with this. I was actually going to challenge the Elite Four.

I let out a tiny excited squeak before bursting into the main room.

Usually when I made an unexpected arrival, my Pokémon would flounder around in their half-asleep state, trying to get their wits about them. However that day I was met with a different sight.

All six of my Pokémon were in the middle of the room, apparently waiting for me.

Talace grunted and I could almost hear him saying, '_Finally, took you long enough.'_

I let out another excited giggle and dashed over to my bag, pulling out an outfit for the day.

That morning I was a blur, rushing from here to there in less than a second, which only riled up my Pokémon even more.

In less than a half hour I had eaten and gotten ready, _and_ fed my Pokémon and gotten them ready.

I threw all of my belongings into my bag and slapped on my cap, giving myself a nod in the mirror.

"You ready guys?" I asked my Pokémon and I was met with a resounding, '_Yes'._

I returned all of them to their balls and stuffed them back inside my bag, snapping Talace's ball into the necklace before looking back at the Pokémon Center room once again and sighing.

I secretly hoped I'd get to spend more time in these rooms, they still did truly feel like home.

With a slam the door was shut and I almost skipped out into the Pokémon center to hand Nurse Joy the room key back.

It only took a few minutes for me to pay and exit the center, almost sprinting down the road to Route 10. I looked up at the wooden sign, the white letters saying that the Pokémon League was just past the route scrawled perfectly on its surface.

"Hey White!" A familiar voice brought me out of my thoughts.

I whirled around to see my two childhood friends bounding towards me.

"Hey guys," I said, grinning like an idiot.

"So are you finally going to challenge the Pokémon League?" Bianca asked, leaning forward with her hands clasped together.

I nodded and she squealed, joining my happy circle for the day. Bianca had already challenged the Pokémon League about a month ago. She was able to beat three of the Elite Four members, but apparently was obliterated by one. She hadn't told me which one though, and that worried me.

Cheren was waiting for _me_ though. He was planning on heading in after me, and I felt sort of bad for making him wait this long.

"You want to walk together?" Bianca asked, already grabbing both Cheren and my hands and squeezing them harder than a constricting Ekans.

Cheren rolled his eyes but followed Bianca's tugging and we all stumbled onto Route 10.

It took us only about an hour to get through Route 10, and I had to admit it was one of the most fun hours of my life.

I was able to catch a Bouffalant, a Pokémon that cracked Bianca up to no end. I thought I had probably caught all the Pokémon I could in Unova, but I was proven wrong by the large buffalo-like creature with an insane hairdo.

When I saw the outline of the Pokémon League's gates my heart rate skyrocketed. This was it, I was actually doing it. I took a deep breath to steady myself.

"We've come a long way," Cheren said, almost in awe as we approached the gates, that of which were at least twenty feet tall.

"Sure have," Bianca said, a warm smile on her face.

We stood in silence, looking up at the obstacle in front of us for a long while before Bianca broke the silence.

"Well White, good luck! We'll be waiting to see how you did!"

Cheren smiled and gave me a nod, which was Cheren's way of saying good luck as well.

I gave them both a quick hug before they disappeared back into Route 10.

I turned back to the daunting gate and gulped. Should I knock? Should I just yell and tell them I'm here?

I sighed and decided to do something else first. I called out all six of my Pokémon onto the lush grass in front of the gate and they gave me looks that let me know they thought I was crazy.

"Uh, alright guys, pep-talk time," I said, trying to make myself feel like I actually had authority.

All of my Pokémon seemed pumped and ready to listen. Except Talace who shook his head and chuckled, or as close to a chuckle as an Emboar can get.

"Alright guys, here we go. Everything we've done up to this point has been in preparation for this," I said, motioning once again to the gate.

After another few minutes of me trying to form a persuasive and coherent speech I was through, and honestly my Pokémon seemed to have gotten even more excited, even though I didn't know that was possible.

I returned all but Talace to their balls and sighed, turning towards the gate.

I felt a weight on my arm and looked over to see Talace was trying to reassure me, his giant hand resting on my right shoulder.

"Are you sure we're ready for this?" I questioned.

He gave a single nod, now looking at the gate also.

"But it's such a big deal. If we lose… it won't only affect us, but every other trainer in Unova as well."

Talace shook his head and grunted.

I smiled, "You're right, we don't have anything to worry about. After all it's only N."

Talace smiled and nodded again.

"We've come so far," I said, realizing that that time I had been able to understand Talace without any problem.

He nodded again.

I glanced up at my Emboar, now nearly two feet taller than me, larger than the average Emboar. He was powerful and strong, tall and large. Much different than he had been when I first received him.

I smiled, reminiscing. It was hard to believe that this giant creature was once my tiny Tepig. The tiny Tepig that wanted to battle more than anything, even if his trainer was more than a little apprehensive.

"Alright then, let's go," I said, the memories spurring me onward.

Talace refused to go back in his ball, saying he wanted to go through the entire process with me, and that's exactly what he did.

It turned out the gate in front of me was actually the first badge check gate, not the gate to the Pokémon League, and I had to admit I felt like an idiot.

As soon as I was within about three feet of the gate it made a loud clicking sound and creaked open. In front of me was a moderately sized area. It was flat and packed dirt, with not much to look at, and on the opposite side of the small area was another gate that looked quite similar to the first.

"Your badge case, please." A voice from my right scared me half to death and I jumped a mile. Talace jumped as well, shooting out an unexpected ball of fire.

The man with his hand outstretched blinked a few times, his eyes wide before once again requesting my case.

I handed it to him and he whipped out a scanner, running the red light over the Trio Badge in my case. With a loud beep the man looked back down at the device and then nodded, bowing slightly and handing me my case back.

He walked a few feet over and pressed a button on the wall, typing in a pin number before the gate in front of me began to creak open just like the first.

I repeated this process with seven different areas, in each one, a man scanning my badges and then nodding quietly, opening the next gate without a word.

It took about a half an hour to get through all of them, and while it was an interesting experience, I think both Talace and I were unamused by the time we got to the end.

"Sheesh, are they _trying_ to wear us down?" I asked and Talace let out an exasperated grunt.

Victory Road was next, as a small sign said and I put on a determined face.

As any Pokémon trainer knows, Victory Road is supposedly the hardest challenge aside from the Elite Four in a region. As kids you are told about mysterious things that happen on that road and amazing things as well. Whether it be sighting legendries, or getting lost for over a week, you hear them all, and so finally standing on that road brings some odd feelings.

Determination was the one I chose though and I confidently marched ahead into the maze.

I wasn't going to kid myself, Victory Road was a nightmare. Sure I had caught a Heatmor, a Deino, and a Durant, but holy mother of Arceus did it take forever for me to find my way out of that forsaken road.

Three hours had passed before both Talace and I stumbled out of a cave and into the light, looking like we had been lost for days and chased by Beedrill. I could've kissed the ground when I turned to my right and saw a thin steel archway with the signature pokeball symbol that signaled we had finally made it.

Talace snorted and I chuckled.

"Yeah, it _is_ about time."

We trudged through the arch and down the path and as it opened up into a much larger area, I took in a sharp breath.

I had prepared myself to no end for walking though the badge check gates, but here I was, standing in the middle of the Pokémon League and I had not even prepared myself a bit for this.

There were four guards in front of me. Two were standing on either side of a door. The building it was attached to was small and I saw a tiny sign that said it was a Pokémon Center.

'_Well that's convenient,' _I thought to myself before looking to my right.

About twenty feet away were the other two guards, who were standing on either side of a small gate that, from what I could see, lead to a large stone circle.

I blinked a few times as the realization that that was where I would challenge the Elite Four dawned upon me.

I quickly scurried into the Pokémon Center first and handed Nurse Joy all of my Pokémon. She smiled and disappeared in the back.

I sighed and plopped down in a chair, using the time to dust off my clothes and fix my hair, that of which had become rather mussed up during the Victory Road hike.

After a few minutes Nurse Joy returned and smiled, telling me all of my Pokémon were in tip top shape.

"Now," she started, and my gaze snapped from my bag to her.

"You _do_ know how all of this works right?" she asked.

I shook my head and she began to explain.

The Elite Four's quarters were in fact behind that gate I had seen. They each had a separate room, and I could challenge them in any order I pleased. She also said there would be a sign saying which member was in which room. She then also explained that once I had started my challenge I couldn't stop until either I had defeated all of the Elite Four members, or I myself was defeated.

She said that I wouldn't be able to leave the Elite Four's quarters between battles, even to heal my Pokémon so I should probably invest in some potions.

I nodded my understanding and turned towards the shop counter.

"Oh, and don't let it scare you when the gate closes," she said.

I gave her a funny look but nodded.

Throughout my journey and all of my wins I had accumulated quite a sum of money, and so I spared no expense in getting as many healing items as I could.

After I had stuffed all of the new purchases into my bag, I snapped it closed and sighed.

I turned on my heel towards the door and heard Nurse Joy call out from behind me.

"Good luck!" she called and I gave her a smile and a nod before exiting the small and quite secluded Pokémon center.

I was back out in the open when I left the Center and I took another deep breath. This was so nerve-wracking.

For a moment I wondered if my nerves would get in the way of how I battled, but after a moment of thought decided against it, figuring I would get the hang of it soon enough.

I forced a determined look on my face and stalked over to the gate. When I approached, the two guards didn't react in the slightest.

I glanced from one to the other and then back again. I had figured they'd at least say, 'hi' or something. But they stayed still as statues, even as I began creeping past them and through the gate they guarded.

The minute both of my feet were on the other side, now in the large stone circle, I heard an ear-splitting screech and then a loud boom.

I whirled around to find that there were now steel bars blocking my exit of the Elite Four's quarters and I gulped.

"_So that's what Joy must've been talking about when she said not to be scared by the gate," _I thought to myself before shivering and turning back around.

I walked to the center of the large stone circle and peeked around. There were four walkways, two on my left and two on my right. There were stairs leading up to each entrance, and beyond that was pure pitch black.

"Well, I guess this is it," I said out loud, walking forward a few more steps and bending down to read a small wooden sign. The sign was attached to a large statue of… I couldn't place what. It was huge and rather beautiful, even if I couldn't tell what it was.

After carefully reading the sign I was informed of which leader was where.

All children are exposed to the Pokémon world at an early age. Whether it be seeing and interacting with wild Pokémon, or more commonly, seeing and interacting with Gym Leaders.

The Elite Four very rarely are ever seen in public however. They throw a charity event every year, and that is just about the only time they are seen by the public eye. So then, standing only a few hundred feet away from them all, I was a bit star struck.

"Okay," I sighed, turning to my left, "Might as well just go in order."

I forced myself to put one foot in front of the other and over to the staircase that would lead to Shauntal's battling area.

As I passed through the small archway I was plunged into darkness and my breathing picked up its pace. I stood still, waiting for either a light or for my eyes to adjust, neither of which happened.

I squinted. Maybe I had the wrong tunnel, maybe this wasn't a battling area.

I decided to call out before jumping to conclusions.

"Uh, hello?" I called, a bit embarrassed.

The minute my voice echoed out into the darkness I was finally graced with a bit of light.

Across the room, three gigantic medieval windows slowly appeared as the curtains were drawn back. It was night time beyond the windows, but the moon let in a light glow.

My face contorted in confusion. When I had entered it was perfectly light outside, nowhere near what the windows showed.

A small flicker of light brought me back to the current moment. A tiny dancing purple flame hung in the air across from me and suddenly I was entranced; so entranced in fact that I had failed to notice that suddenly my feet were no longer touching the ground.

Only did I notice that I was no longer safely on the earth when I realized the large windows began to look smaller.

"Oh jeez," I squeaked as I looked down to realize that without knowing it, I was now about ten feet in the air.

I closed my eyes. Either this was a dream or the Elite Four really did have some weird ways to welcome challengers.

I tried to remind myself that this was Shauntal, a ghost type specialist, and all that was happening to me did seem a bit supernatural.

My eyes snapped back open as I felt myself come to a halt, and my feet touch the ground once again.

I let out a relieved sigh as I looked around to see I was on a large platform, no doubt Shauntal's battlefield.

On the platform was scattered many books. Some open, some closed, and some looking like they might fall off at any moment. However I didn't realize Shauntal herself was present until a small lump on the other side of the field began to talk.

"A dark flame filled the man's eyes; he would refuse all others to fulfill his sole justice."

The dark blob in the corner turned to face me and I saw it was Shauntal, who had been sitting crisscross, facing away from me.

She gave me a warm smile, her head tilting to the side as she did so.

"A passage from my book. I wrote it about one of my previous challengers, but it's a rather… sorrowful story."

She seemed to trail off, now deep in thought but shook her head and pushed herself up and into a standing position.

"For the challenger that is…" she trailed off, a small smirk on her face.

I grinned. Yes, the Elite Four were all very self-confident; this was what I had expected.

She casually reached behind her and pulled out a pokeball.

"Now, let Shauntal, ghost user of the Elite Four be your opponent!"

With that remark she threw the ball up in the air.

As a bright white light flashed I swore my heart was in my throat. This was it, my first of four battles, and the first Pokémon of that battle.

As the light dimmed I leaned forward slightly to get a better look at the creature.

I cocked my head to the side as a seemingly inanimate object appeared. It was a few feet tall and rather skinny, and was a bright gold. It appeared to be a coffin.

'_Wait..'_ I thought, realizing that I _had_ in fact seen a Pokémon that looked like that.

Just as my realization dawned upon me two glowing red eyes appeared on the coffin structure and it let out a low and ominous sound.

Dark hisses of smoke snaked out from its sides and formed four arm-like structures.

A Cofagrigus.

I didn't have any Pokémon on my team that were strong against ghost types, so I decided to use one that would have a good defense.

"Alright Klinklang, come on out!" I called, throwing my steel type's ball into the air.

Klinklang appeared with a deafening screech, no doubt his attempt at making himself look and sound intimidating.

Shauntal smiled, "Alright then, Will-O-Wisp, Cofagrigus!"

The Pokémon grunted in recognition and jerked its hands out to the side as hundreds of tiny blue flames floated in the air around it.

"Use Gear Grind to counter!" I called back.

Ash had some very interesting ways of using attack moves defensively, and I had learned a great deal from simply watching him throughout the months.

The Cofagrigus threw its arms forward and the flames followed in suit, hurtling towards Klinklang.

Two large gears seemed to fly off of Klinklang and into the air in front of him. They attached to one another and began to spin rapidly, just as the Will-O-Wisp attack make contact with them.

Acting as a shield the flames seemed to die immediately. I gave a small triumphant smile as the gears disappeared to reveal a rather shocked Shauntal.

"Alright then Klinklang, Thunderbolt!" I yelled, using the pause to send out my next attack.

With a shriek, Klinklang became engulfed in electricity and without a second of hesitation, the electric current flew off of him and pulsated towards the Cofagrigus, crashing into it before it even had time to blink.

The ghost type paused, flinching slightly. With an attack of that caliber any Gym Leader's Pokémon would've been easily knocked out, however this was an Elite Four member we were talking about, and sure enough, the Cofagrigus shuddered, brushing off the electric attack to once again stand back up, not looking affected in the least.

I grinned, '_This is going to be fun'._

* * *

**0=0=0=0=0=0**

* * *

"Finally!" Ghetsis rejoiced.

The grunt across from him flinched slightly, not sure if his leader was angry or excited, as the two emotions looked rather similar on the beast of a man in front of him.

"That boy; maybe he finally got some sense knocked into him," Ghetsis grumbled, standing from his chair and briskly walking past the grunt, his hand reaching out for the door handle. He paused for a second, turning back to the now relieved grunt.

"Why now? Why has he finally decided to move on now?"

The grunt faltered for a moment before bowing, "The other hero apparently announced to him she would be challenging the Pokémon League today as well, m'lord."

Ghetsis grunted and pushed his way through the door, deciding not to focus on the reason why his son was now so apparently eager to move on with his plans.

It had annoyed Ghetsis to no end that N was delaying, especially for three entire months. N had challenged the Opelucid Gym and easily won nearly three and a half months ago, but only now was he deciding to move forward.

Ghetsis had questioned N on why he was so hesitant and N had replied rather cryptically, saying he wasn't going to until the time presented itself.

It took a while for Ghetsis to figure out it was because N didn't wish to upset White, and make her move on quicker than she was comfortable with.

Ghetsis' hands balled into fists at just the thought. Would his son go easy on her in battle, just as he had all the way up to this point?

Ghetsis shook his head, rounding a corner. No. N was much too passionate about his goals to throw a battle just to stay with a girl he loved.

'_If he even knows what love is,'_ Ghetsis growled in his mind.

He had thought he'd taught N better. He thought that the boy wouldn't ever give into an emotion like love, but apparently he had been wrong.

Ghetsis halted in front of a large wooden door and knocked twice before entering, not waiting for an answer.

Two girls were inside, quietly conversing but as Ghetsis appeared they froze, eyes wide, and waited for him to speak up.

"Anthea, Concordia, get ready, they'll be here soon," Ghetsis said quickly, shutting the door behind him almost immediately after he had finished.

The blonde haired woman let out a small gasp, "Our lord has decided to move on? Why didn't he tell us?"

The woman across from her shook her head, "He's a grown man Concordia, he doesn't need to tell us everything."

"But Anthea-"

"Come on, you heard Ghetsis, we must get ready."

* * *

**0=0=0=0=0=0=0**

* * *

"Chandelure Shadow Ball!" Shauntal called.

"Alright, you too!" I called out to my Chandelure as well, my voice shaking with excitement.

After a long and well-fought battle by us both I had made it to her last Pokémon, and out of my own amusement had decided to pair up my Chandelure against her own.

Ghost types were strong against one another, which I had always found interesting, and so this would definitely be a high-stakes battle.

The two attacks collided and froze for a moment before the energy bubbled over and an explosion occurred.

"Fire Blast!" I heard Shauntal call, not waiting for the smoke to clear.

"Uh, Flame Burst!" I called out for my Chandelure.

My large Chandelier Pokémon nodded slightly before thrusting its arms forward and shooting out bursts of flame from the goblets already filled with fire.

I had no idea if our attack had landed or not but as a large ball of flame hurtled through the smoke I realized Shauntal's wouldn't.

"Oh jeez!" I yelled, skidding to my left to avoid being burnt to a crisp.

I sighed in relief as it disappeared over the edge of the platform and out of sight.

"Alright Chandelure, get a Shadow Ball ready," I whispered and my Pokémon immediately recognized my command as a glowing purple and black ball began to form in front of it.

The minute I could see the outline of Shauntal and her Chandelure she was already calling an attack of her own.

"Shadow Ball!"

"Dodge it, and then fire!" I called.

My Chandelure was hard to match when it came to speed but Shauntal's ghost types sure put up a good effort.

My Chandelure barely skidded out of the way in time, just to turn and fire his own attack at Shauntal's Pokémon.

Our attack hit right on the mark and with a loud screech Shauntal's Chandelure twitched slightly before falling to the ground with a clang.

"I did it," I whispered to myself. I had actually done it!

Shauntal quickly called back her Chandelure and whispered something to it, that of which I couldn't hear. Her attention was then on me as she scurried over to me and Chandelure.

"I-I-I-I'm so sorry! It's because of me that your Pokémon were hurt, I must apologize!" she said, looking almost frantic, "But that's how battles go, and that is the foundation for why I'm an Elite Four member," she said, her eyes looking me up and down, seemingly searching for my other two fainted Pokémon.

I laughed nervously, "Uh, it's alright."

She smiled then, realizing I had forgiven her, even though I held no hard feelings, "Both people and Pokémon have stories to tell. But a story with only people… or only Pokémon… they are _infinitely_ less appealing than stories of Pokémon and humans helping each other."

I nodded. I had read a few of Shauntal's books growing up. She was the most famous and most talented writer in the Unova region, and so hardly anyone hadn't ever read a book of hers.

She motioned behind her, "Over there, that'll bring you out, and I wish you luck with your next battle!"

I glanced behind her and saw a small glowing green dot on the floor. I gave her a hesitant look and she nodded me on.

I creeped over to the florescent dot on the floor and gulped. What was this? How was it supposed to get me out?

"Just step on it," Shauntal clarified from behind me and I blushed. How embarrassing.

The minute I had both feet on the spot my surroundings changed, and I was back in front of the large statue in the Elite Four's headquarters.

I whirled around, wondering how I had gotten there so fast, and without feeling a thing.

After a few minutes of going over every possibility I could think of, I decided to shrug it off. The Elite Four were supposed to be different, not only in battles but in the atmosphere they provided as well, and that transportation device was nothing short of… unique.

I called out Chandelure, Klinklang, and Excadrill. Klinklang and Excadrill had both fainted in battle, but not without a good fight. I quickly revived them and with a hyper potion to both they looked good as new. I also healed Chandelure as well. Although he hadn't been knocked out, he had taken quite a bit of damage.

In all of my Gym Battles, hardly any of my Pokémon were even harmed. Mostly because I used Talace, but still, the battles had been almost easy.

I was almost glad to have a battle that was a real challenge, and I now couldn't wait to get on to the next.

I recalled my three Pokémon and checked the sign before heading off into the next tunnel where apparently Grimsley would be waiting.

When I passed through the archway to Grimsley's quarters I was met with a very different sight then I had been with Shauntal's.

Again there was a platform about twenty feet in the air, and I again assumed that would be his battlefield. But the room was very well lit by a giant chandelier hanging from the ceiling, along with lamps attached to the wall every two feet or so.

I paused, wondering how I would make it up and onto the platform. With Shauntal I had been somehow escorted of sorts by the little purple flame, but I didn't see that as an option here.

The moment I had decided maybe I should call out, just like I had with Shauntal the floor beneath me began to move.

My legs flew out to brace myself and my hand reflexively reached towards Talace's ball.

"No need to be frightened," I heard a smooth and deep voice say.

I peered up and realized Grimsley must have realized the sudden floor movement had scared me. I looked down as I continued to move and noticed I was on what looked to be a conveyor belt.

I stayed perfectly still as I continued to move, spiraling ever so slowly as I continued to advance upwards.

After what felt like an eternity the platform halted and I was at the top.

In front of me was in fact a battlefield, with Grimsley lounging on a large black leather couch on the other side.

He frowned slightly as I stepped off onto the battle area.

"What kind of day is this?" he questioned, smoothly standing up and walking forward, "Challengers coming in one after another."

He pretended to wipe sweat off his forehead before he cracked a devilish grin, "I am Grimsley of the Elite Four, may you fulfill your purpose as my opponent!"

Without any warning a Pokémon appeared in front of him, walking forward with an undeniable swagger than only could belong to a Scrafty.

I hadn't even seen him pull a pokeball out. Where had this one come from?

I shook my head to clear it of all thoughts before reaching into my bag.

Talace's ball began to twitch as he realized I was once again not planning on using him for a battle.

"Don't worry Talace," I whispered and his ball gave a violent jerk. He obviously wasn't happy.

I chuckled to myself as I pulled Excadrill's ball out.

"Go, now!" I called and within seconds my mole Pokémon was out in the open, moving his metal claws about, flexing them for battle.

Grimsley smirked, "Alright then, Scrafty, Brick Break!"

The Pokémon nodded quietly in agreement before its arm lit up a bright white. Much to my surprise however it didn't make an immediate move towards Excadrill, instead staying in place, its glowing arm held in the air.

"Uh," I stuttered, trying to figure out what kind of strategy this could possibly be, "Excadrill X-Scissor!"

My ground type squeaked in agreement before both of his giant metal claws began to glow white, just like the Scrafty's arm. However my Excadrill had no hesitation before he shoved off the ground, running at top speed towards the opponent.

He crossed his claws at the last moment before hitting the Scrafty and slicing.

My eyes widened slightly as I realized Grimsley hadn't made any attempt to dodge.

"Now," he said calmly.

Scrafty's arm then plummeted down to conk Excadrill on the head, a painful sound echoing in the room.

I flinched slightly, peering at Excadrill's face to see if he was still alright.

Shock was the emotion on the mole's face as he blinked a few times, trying to come to terms with what had happened. And it was evident when he had.

Excadrill held his claws a few inches from the Scrafty's face as he shook them at him, squeaking what I could only believe to be many pointed words.

I chuckled, "Excadrill."

My Pokémon's cursing fit immediately stopped and he looked back at me for a moment.

"Come on, use that anger towards battling, not seeing if you can rile him up."

Excadrill sighed, obviously not happy with taking the high road and trudged back over to our side of the battlefield.

Grimsley looked almost amused as he called out the next move.

"Poison Jab!"

Scrafty had no hesitation in his movements this time as he began sprinting towards us.

"Earthquake Excadrill!" I called.

With an excited squeak Excadrill pounded both his arms on the ground and the result was incredible.

I had practiced Earthquake to no end with Excadrill. It was a very powerful move and I knew it could come in handy, but I hadn't ever seen one like this.

The entire platform shook and I had to drop to my knees to keep from tumbling off. Chunks of flooring flew into the air while some crumbled off the edge.

Grimsley fell back onto his couch, his eyes wide while his Scrafty helplessly crashed to the ground, unable to keep any inkling of balance.

"Alright, X-Scissor again!" I called.

Excadrill nodded and jumped into the air. While it was only a few feet, it was enough to reach the Scrafty, and enough time to create the attack.

The Hoodlum Pokémon grunted in pain as the attack hit head on and sent him skidding backwards just as the rumbling subsided.

It shook as it tried to stand and I smiled. _"Another good match ahead."_

* * *

**0=0=0=0=0=0=0=0**

* * *

"Attention! We need all of your help," Ghetsis' voice boomed as he addressed the other six Sages.

"And yes that means you too," Ghetsis hissed, turning towards where Rood was quietly trying to sneak out the door.

The Sage frowned and sulked back to his chair.

"I don't understand why we have to even be any part of this," Zinzolin spoke up, head on his hand, seemingly bored with the entire situation.

Ghetsis rolled his eyes, "You underestimate the power of a hero Zinzolin."

"But if Lord N is a hero as well, they should both be worn completely out, even if she does manage to win, we could beat her by force," Bronius added, standing up.

The Sages were beginning to get on Ghetsis' last nerve. All six of them weren't in the least worried about N possibly losing. Ghetsis wasn't too worried about it, but realized it would be about a fifty-fifty chance of N winning, and they needed to prepare for the worst.

"She might have others with her," Ghetsis answered.

"Who?" Was the resounding question from almost all of the Sages.

"She has made many friends on her journey. Bianca, Cheren, the Gym Leaders; hell, even the Juniper's all are on her side," Ghetsis growled.

Why couldn't they just see it his way?

"We need to be prepared to stall any of them in case they have ideas of affecting the outcome of the battle."

There was a light buzz of conversation as the other Sages talked amongst themselves.

"I agree, in a case like this we need to be prepared for not only making sure the battle goes without a hitch, but also a backup plan for taking them down if our Lord loses," Zinzolin spoke up, standing up and looking to Ghetsis.

The green haired man nodded. Finally, someone had some sense in them.

"But-."

All eyes turned to where the small squeak of a protest had come from: Rood.

"But shouldn't we not be interfering with the outcome of the heroes' battle?"

Silence was the only thing heard in the conference room before Ghetsis spoke up.

"What do you mean?"

Rood cowered in his chair slightly as six sets of eyes were focused on him.

"I mean, this is bigger than just us. This is basically a replication of the first heroes' battle, and the outcome can greatly affect Unova. Shouldn't we just respect who wins and move on? Not try and conquer her anyway, whether she wins or loses?"

Ghetsis' visible eye twitched before he took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Rood, we've come too far to lose all of this. I won't allow it."

With that remark Ghetsis turned on his heel and excited the room, the door slamming behind him.

The Sages once again immediately began talking amongst themselves, planning on how they would stall anyone who had accompanied her.

Rood watched quietly as they all shouted at each other, soon enough one by one making their way out of the room as well until he was left alone.

_"__This isn't right,"_ Rood thought to himself, _"We should respect whatever outcome, it is the ultimate answer for what is right."_

He sighed and leaned back in his chair, _"What have we come to? Team Plasma seems so different than when it first was founded."_

"You coming?"

A voice interrupted Rood's thoughts.

"Uh, yeah, of course Ryoku," Rood said, quickly scrambling to his feet and out the door as well.

_"__I just hope Ghetsis is right."_

* * *

**0=0=0=0=0=0=0=0**

* * *

I flinched as Excadrill went crashing to the ground for the final time, finally knocked out.

He had managed to win his way through three matches simply using force, but I knew with this last opponent he didn't really stand a chance.

"Return," I called, whispering praise to the ball once Excadrill was safely inside.

I was already on Grimsley's last Pokémon, and I had to admit I hadn't really even broken a sweat.

I dug around in my bag, contemplating who would be next. I could use Vanilluxe, it didn't have any weakness or resistance to a Bisharp.

Talace's ball once again rumbled, the dot blinking once before quieting down again. He wanted out more than I had ever seen before.

I sighed, giving in, he after all w_as_ a fighting type, and that would be quite helpful.

I yanked the ball off before pressing the button to enlarge it, "Alright Talace, here we go!"

My Emboar appeared within a moment and roared out his exasperation. He gave me a look of gratitude before turning to face his opponent.

Talace slammed one foot onto the ground and then the other, almost mimicking the result of Excadrill's Earthquake attacks and knocking the Bisharp over.

"Alright, let's do this in one hit Talace, Arm Thrust!"

A deafening roar hit my ears as my fire Pokémon nodded and balled his hands into fists as he quickly stalked towards the opponent.

"Dodge and use Night Slash!" Grimsley called.

"Don't let him get away!" I called, almost tsking to myself. Talace wouldn't let it dodge that easily.

Just as the Bisharp skidded to the side, Talace did as well, one arm snatching out to grab the steel type which was dwarfed in comparison.

With another loud roar, and a scared look on the Bisharp's face, Talace unleashed his attack and slammed a fist into the defending Pokémon.

It flew into the air a few feet and with another well timed punch it was thrown backwards, almost hitting Grimsley as it skidded to the ground.

Just as I had thought, a one-hit knock out. It _did_ have an overwhelming weakness to fighting types after all.

Grimsley chuckled to my surprise as he called back his fainted Pokémon.

He shrugged, "A loss is a loss… and so your victory glitters bright."

He slowly sauntered over towards me and stopped only a few inches away. I leaned backward slightly so I could still see his face, but not too far back as I didn't want to fall off the edge of the platform.

"Now… that strength of yours…," he trailed off, reaching forward and putting one finger underneath my chin, tilting it upwards.

I gulped. What was with this guy?

He smirked before leaning forward and whispering in my ear, "You would do well to test it against the other members of the Elite Four."

Before I knew it he had spun me around so I was behind him, and facing the battlefield once again.

"Over there," he said, pointing towards another green pulsating dot on the floor.

I hesitantly looked over my shoulder and flinched as I got another charismatic grin.

There were rumors around the Unova region that Grimsley was quite the ladies' man, but I never thought them to be true. But I guess they actually were.

I heard a snort and glanced to Talace who was eyeing Grimsley up and down, almost looking like a Purrloin, waiting to pounce the moment its prey made a move.

I chuckled. Talace was so protective. Even if he had finally let N and Brock off the hook, he didn't like it when people, especially men, invaded my personal space.

I smiled and pulled out his ball, "Great job Talace, let's go."

He nodded and grinned as he became a red blob before being sucked back into the spherical contraption.

I briskly walked over to the dot and before I knew it, I once again was standing in the stone circle of the Elite Four's quarters, right in front of the statue.

I quickly healed Excadrill and then turned to my right, ready for my third match.

Next would be Caitlin, a psychic type user.

I nodded to myself, deciding to move on right away in hopes of keeping up not only my spirits but my winning streak as well.

I marched up the stairs and entered into her room to once again be met with an unexpected sight.

It almost reminded me of the Nimbasa Gym as I looked down to realize I was standing on a clear flooring, seemingly only black abyss beneath, aside from a few sparkles.

'_Wait, sparkles?'_ I thought to myself as I shifted my gaze upwards and into the room. Sure enough in front of me was another platform that would no doubt have Caitlin's battlefield on top, but in the air around it, past it, above it, absolutely everywhere were sparkles.

"Wow," I whispered to myself. It was so beautiful it practically took my breath away.

The minute the word left my mouth I heard a click beneath me and the small clear platform I was standing on began to steadily move upward.

I nodded. This one was rather tame, and I was grateful.

In less than a minute the platform came to a very smooth halt and sure enough I was on one side of a battlefield that looked almost identical to the other two, well, aside from the giant cream colored canopy bed on Caitlin's side of the field.

I tilted my head to the side. What was a bed doing here?

Just as I began to wonder if she was even present, one of the large sheets on the canopy bed shifted and was pulled open.

A very grumpy looking Caitlin then appeared and seemingly reluctantly got out of the very soft and fluffy looking bed.

"Who…" Her words were cut off by a yawn. She rubbed her eyes before beginning to ask once again.

"Who is this boorish trainer who would wake me from my slumber?"

I frowned. Well she wasn't exactly in a good mood.

"Oh, it's you… hmph," she said, yawning again and stumbling forward a few steps.

"Hey!" I said out loud this time, slowly getting more and more offended by her remarks.

She giggled, "A combination of power and kindness makes one stubborn indeed… however do not show me a bore of a match that makes me yawn," she said with a smirk before pulling out a pokeball.

She gently clicked the button in the middle and the ball reacted instantly, snapping open and sending forth a bright flash of white.

As it dimmed I got a full view of her first Pokémon; a Reuniclus.

The psychic Pokémon shook itself, jiggling a bit before throwing its arms out and grinning, obviously more pumped for a battle than its trainer.

"Alrighty then, Excadrill!" I called.

My poor ground type was getting more than his fair share of a workout battling the Elite Four, and that was simply because of his Bug type move, which was proving itself just as useful as I had thought.

"Reuniclus, Thunder!" Caitlin called.

'_What on Earth?'_ I thought to myself. Excadrill was a ground type; any electric type attacks would do absolutely nothing but rile him up.

As a few puffy and dark storm clouds formed overhead Excadrill looked back at me with a confused expression. I shook my head, letting him know he could stay still.

With a thundering boom a powerful streak of electricity flew out from the clouds and crashed into Excadrill.

He put his claws on his hips, puffing out his chest as if to say a little Thunder attack wasn't going to do much against him. And he was right. As the electricity crackled away and the clouds dissipated, Excadrill didn't look phased in the least.

Caitlin paused and rubbed her eyes before smacking a palm to her forehead, "I do still seem to be half asleep," she said, blinking a few times and taking a deep breath, trying to void her mind of any remaining sleepiness.

I couldn't help but giggle to myself.

She frowned, apparently not amused by my tiny laughing fit, "Energy Ball! Now!"

That call sure halted my giggling. Grass type moves could do some serious damage against my Pokémon.

"Hit it with Brick Break!" I called.

Excadrill nodded and began running towards the green ball of swirling energy that was currently flying towards him. With a squeak he unleashed his attack, his right claw smashing into the orb and effectively slicing it in half. The top half of the ball flew over Exacdrill's head, but the bottom half still managed to make contact, my small mole Pokémon squeaking in discomfort as he was pushed backwards.

"X-scissor!"

He shook himself, his fur ruffling, before crossing his glowing claws and charging towards the Reuniclus.

"Psychic!" Caitlin called.

The Reuniclus' eyes glowed blue as a purple aura appeared around Excadrill, lifting him into the air and effectively stopping his attack.

He gave me a squeak of concern.

"Throw it!" Caitlin called.

With a thrust of the Reuniclus' arms Excadrill went flying towards the ground.

I didn't hesitate, "Use Flash Cannon to break your fall, then Earthquake!"

I was surprised my brain had come up with such an immediate answer and doubted it would work. But as the bright white of a Flash Cannon was thrown towards the ground, successfully breaking Excadrill's fall and allowing him to jump backwards and onto his feet without any harm, I knew it was.

With a loud squeak he again slammed both arms to the ground, a loud rumble heard before the platform began to shake.

I once again dropped to my knees and so did Caitlin.

The Reuniclus was happily floating above the ground, but with a skilled slam of a fist by Excadrill a large chunk of rock went flying into the air to hit it.

"Yes," I hissed to myself. I was finally able to get at least a bit of an attack to hit the elusive psychic type.

As the shaking ceased and Caitlin stood back up, she smiled, "This should be a good battle!"

I grinned, "You bet!"

* * *

**0=0=0=0=0=0=0**

* * *

"Hey Brock? Can I ask you something?" Ash asked, walking over to where the breeder was, furiously stirring up a new batch of Pokémon food.

Brock paused, "Yeah sure Ash, what's up?"

Ash plopped down in the chair next to him in front of the folding table they had set up for the day. The day of waiting.

"White said if she loses that Team Plasma will take away people's Pokémon right?"

Brock's eyes shifted over to Ash with a curious expression, "Yeah."

Ash looked to the ground, "Does that mean if N wins that I will have to give up my Pokémon as well?"

Brock blinked a few times, the question throwing him off guard, "I don't know Ash, I hadn't ever thought about that before."

Silence filled the air as both boys contemplated if the battle two regions away would somehow affect them in the future.

"Why don't you ever ask _me_ any of these questions?" Max whined, frowning at the two trainers.

Ash blinked, "Why, do you know something about the battle?"

"Oh dear Arceus," Max whispered to himself, pushing up his glasses so he could pinch the bridge of his nose.

"Well do you?" Ash asked, his eyes getting wider and wider by the second.

"Of _course_ I do Ash, jeez, you should know that by now."

"So how bout it Max," Brock started, "If White loses will we have to give up our Pokémon as well?" he asked, resting his chin on his hands.

Max frowned and sat down on the grass next to the two boys, "Not exactly."

Ash made a face, "What does that mean?"

Max sighed, "Well, if White loses, and Team Plasma wins, they will automatically have the right to force people to release their Pokémon in _Unova._ Of course I'm sure some people would resist, but eventually all of the Pokémon in Unova would be released. So technically that wouldn't affect us."

Ash let out a sigh he wasn't aware he was holding in, "Whew, that's a relief."

"_However,_" Max continued, shooting Ash a look, "I'm sure after they have successfully "freed" the Pokémon in Unova they would try and expand to other regions. It would be tough for them to get the residents of other regions to release their Pokémon however, since the hero legend is strictly how Unova was founded, which means most people in other regions probably haven't even _heard_ about it before."

Ash and Brock looked to one another and then back to Max.

"Long story short, it wouldn't affect us immediately, but probably eventually we would be faced with the very grim possibility that we were expected to release our Pokémon as well. If I had any that is," Max finished with a grimace.

Ash looked surprised, "So really the outcome of this battle affects _everyone_?"

Max nodded.

Both Ash and Brock's eyes widened. They not only had a friend that had a lot riding on this battle, but perhaps also did themselves.

"I hope White wins," Ash said quietly.

Brock nodded, "Me too."

* * *

**0=0=0=0=0=0=0**

* * *

"Calm Mind!"

My gut clenched, "Okay Chandelure this is our chance! Shadow Ball one last time!"

My Pokémon let out a screech before forming and hurling the familiar purple and black ball at the Gothitelle across the field.

I had never seen a Pokémon as strong as this psychic type, and it had successfully knocked out two of my Pokémon already.

Time seemed to slow as the Shadow Ball flew towards the Gothitelle. If this hit, most likely it would all be over and I would win. If it didn't, it was back to scrambling to even get an attack to make contact.

Caitlin's psychic types were immaculate when it came to not only dodging attacks, but deterring them as well. It would take move after move and dodge after dodge to even get a weak attack to hit, and so in a time like this where Caitlin was using a status changing move, I finally had found my opening.

"Dodge it," Caitlin said calmly, crossing her arms and my heart sank.

If it could dodge, I still had a long battle ahead.

The Gothitelle gently glided to the side, but much to my surprise Chandelure mimicked her moves to a tee and shot the Shadow Ball directly at the psychic type once it had stopped moving.

I gulped as the ball of energy slammed into the Gothitelle, causing it to skid backwards.

Chandelure floated back to me quickly, all eyes focused on the Astral Body Pokémon as it shook, its eyes squinched shut as it tried desperately to shake off the ghost type attack.

It opened its eyes a moment later, a cocky grin forming on its face.

My head dropped, I hadn't succeeded.

My gaze snapped up however as I heard a faint thud and looked over to see the Gothitelle now on the ground, easily knocked out.

"Yes!" I let out a cheer and Chandelure did as well as we both danced around slightly, the thrill of victory once again evident.

Caitlin gave a smile as she returned her fainted Pokémon and whispered something to it.

She then glanced up to me as she began walking forward. She almost glided as she walked, her feet barely touching the ground before she was in front of me and halted.

"Do you have any other members of the Elite Four to challenge?" she questioned.

I nodded, "Just one."

A faint smile pulled at the side of her mouth, "Then don't mind me, get on with your challenge. Good luck."

I smiled back and nodded, calling back Chandelure to his ball before making my way over to the fluorescent green dot on the floor that was steadily becoming more and more familiar.

As I once again was transported to the stone circle in front of the statue I sighed. Only one more. One more and then I would be challenging N.

My nerves were suddenly once again in play and I took a deep breath to settle them, trying to remind myself that I still had to beat Marshal, who would no doubtedly also put up one heck of a fight.

I called out Chandelure, Excadrill, Klinklang and Vanilluxe, reviving the latter three and healing them all, making sure they were all up to another battle before calling them back and turning to my right.

I began walking towards Marshal's archway but hesitated, looking back at the other three member's walkways. There were now three small blue lights glowing on the floor, one in front of each of the member's quarters that I had beaten. The only one that wasn't lit was Marshal's and I hoped to Arceus to see that light lit soon.

I grinned, my confidence flowing back as I turned around and stalked into the next room I would be battling in.

As I passed through the archway I was yet again met with a sight I hadn't exactly expected.

All around me were chain-link fences, all hooked to the walls.

_"__Yeesh, it looks like a fence for a cage match,"_ I thought to myself before smiling.

Of course Marshal, a fighting type specialist would have something like this, I had been silly to overlook that fact.

Just as I had had my realization the floor beneath me once again began to move. I didn't jump this time, half expecting it after the previous three battles, knowing all of them had some odd ways to get challengers up to their battlefields.

The small steel square of flooring I was standing on began moving ever so slowly upwards until I was even with the platform and was able to step off.

The minute my foot hit the platform bright lights began thundering on.

"Wow," I hissed, my eyes immediately shutting from the blinding lights, and my hands shooting up to cover my face.

As soon as I heard the last click of a light turning on, and realized it was over I peeked through my fingers to see something I had expected.

I was now standing on one side of what looked to be a fighting ring, the ropes tied securely around the edges just like in a boxing match for humans.

I couldn't help but chuckle to myself. I had seen Marshal fight on TV a few times, and so this would no doubt be his natural habitat. My grin faded. He was the best boxer in Unova; he would probably have some well-trained Pokémon as well.

"Challenger!" I heard a loud voice boom over the speaker system.

I jumped slightly, looking at the ceiling to try and tell where the voice was coming from.

My gaze flickered back down as I saw movement. I gave a curious look as I saw Marshal's hand swing up and grab one of the corner posts, easily swinging himself through the ropes and into the ring.

He grinned at me as he walked forward, "My name is Marshal. I studied under Alder to master the art of fighting, and continue to train to this day."

I nearly choked on my surprise. Alder had trained him? The Champion? This was going to be a difficult match indeed.

"Your strength, what is its extent? You must show me!" he bellowed before throwing out his first Pokémon.

With another familiar flash of white a new Pokémon appeared and grumbled to itself as it adjusted its footing. A Throh.

I nodded and reached into my bag to pull out my choice. And a prime one I had.

"Sigilyph! Let's go!"

With a loud chirp my Pokémon appeared and fluttered its wings as it sized up the competition.

Sigilyph was a Psychic _and_ Flying type, both of which were strong against Fighting. I had figured it would be no problem.

Marshal nodded, "Good choice. Throh, Stone Edge!"

"_Oh crap,"_ I thought to myself. A rock type move could do a lot of damage to a Flying type. I hadn't expected something like that, but apparently Sigilyph had.

My Symbol Pokémon nearly blurred as he dodged the torrent of rocks hurled at him, all of them easily missing.

I blinked a few times before smiling. It was hard to match Sigilyph when it came to speed.

"Alright Sigilyph, Fly!"

My Pokémon shot into the air without hesitation. As I looked up I had to squint, blinded by the lights. I glanced over to Marshal and Throh to see they couldn't locate my Pokémon as well.

"Well that comes in handy," I whispered to myself as I once again tried to find Sigilyph among the light, which looked to have swallowed him up completely.

"Now!" I called, hoping that Sigilyph could do some locating, as I couldn't.

With another screech I saw a blur of yellow and the Throh went flying, groaning out in pain.

Sigilyph was at my side in an instant and I patted the back of his head gently.

"Good job, I knew you could do it."

He chirped in recognition, his focus still on the battle ahead.

"Your power, it is amazing," Marshal said, "I can't wait to see how this battle turns out!"

"Neither can I," I said, grinning and bracing myself for his next attack.

* * *

**0=0=0=0=0=0=0**

* * *

"Why are you doing this?" Alder managed to yell as he watched his Volcarona crash to the ground before him.

N flinched slightly, his eyes looking at anything _but_ the fainted Pokémon.

Alder gently slipped one arm under the bug type and told it what an amazing job it had done before returning it to its ball and standing up.

N's eyes were finally on the Champion and he tried to not notice the stray tear floating down the man's face.

N knew Alder had gone through the unspeakable when it came to Pokémon. He had lost his dearest partner to sickness, not something that happened often.

Trainers never usually had to deal with the death of a Pokémon, let alone their first. Pokémon usually lived long enough to see their trainers die before them, and would simply grieve themselves to death as well, so they never had to be away from their masters for long.

"_Get it together man!"_ Alder yelled internally. This was one of the biggest battles of his life, if he lost it was all up to White. And he didn't want to put someone so young through that much pressure.

Alder angrily wiped away the tear and reached for his next Pokémon. He only had one left, while N was comfortably sitting at four.

He was a Champion! How could he be beaten so easily by just a boy?

"What you're doing is wrong!" Alder hissed.

N forced a glassy and stoic look on his face. No one could rattle him now.

"That is what _you_ believe," N said, gritting his teeth.

Alder shook his head, "It's what almost _everyone_ believes! You are going to make people and Pokémon so unhappy! Why can't you see that?!" Alder barked, clicking to enlarge the ball.

N sighed. This was the answer he got most of the time when he tried to explain his beliefs to people. They just didn't understand. Didn't understand the pain and suffering people were putting Pokémon through by containing them in balls just to have them battle.

N looked at his Archeops with pity. He felt bad for containing the six he had, but it was just until he could win with them, then they would be free as well, free to do whatever they wanted to do; not to be hurt ever again.

Something pinched inside N's chest. He had had that slight pain every time he had thought of letting his six dearest friends go.

He shook his head violently. Letting them go is what's right, he shouldn't even have to question that.

The blank expression returned to his face and his emotions were immediately back under control.

Just a little longer would he have to endure this. Soon he would beat White…

Once again he felt a pinch in his chest.

He growled to himself, "_No feelings,"_ he reminded before looking back up at his opponent.

Soon he would beat White, the other hero. And surely Reshiram would beat Zekrom as well, and then all would be good in the world once again as all Pokémon were set free, free to be who they wanted, not just tools for humans to use.

* * *

**0=0=0=0=0=0=0**

* * *

"Dodge and use Ice Beam!" I called.

Vanilluxe let out a jingle as it skidded out of the way of the Mienshao's whip-like arms.

Marshal's fighting type Pokémon had put up one heck of a fight, and our battle had lasted longer than any of the other previous three of my Elite Four challenges.

Somehow he had managed to get enough attacks to hit on Sigilyph to knock him out, but by then I had already burned through three of his Pokémon, and was on the last.

"Go!" I called and almost immediately the beam of crystal clear ice shot forth from Vanilluxe and crashed into Mienshao.

It shivered as the ice slowly dissipated and left its fur soaking wet.

"Now, Frost Breath!" I called.

Vanilluxe leaned back slightly, taking in a deep breath before jolting forwards and hissing out his attack.

Blisteringly cold wind filled the room as Vanilluxe breathed out, soon followed by icy chunks hurtling towards the Mienshao.

"Get rid of that ice!" Marshal called.

Mienshao screeched in understanding before rapidly turning and using its furry arms once again as a barrier. It easily shattered the hunks of ice and sent the pieces flying, the glittering sparkles hanging in the air for a moment before melting.

"_That would've been good for one of May's contest battles,"_ I thought to myself with a grin.

"Rock Slide!" Marshal called.

I didn't skip a beat, "Mirror Coat!"

Vanilluxe let out another jingle before closing its eyes. Suddenly its surface was glowing, the Mirror Coat slowly taking effect.

I looked up to see the torrent of rocks begin to come crashing down from seemingly out of nowhere.

Vanilluxe cowered as the attack hit and I just hoped it could survive this attack, if so, this match would most likely soon be over.

As the rocks stopped, so did the swirling silver coating around Vanilluxe.

I heard Marshal chuckle, "Well, looks like that didn't work."

I glanced back to Vanilluxe to see it finally open its eyes a determined look on its face.

"I wouldn't be so sure," I chided.

Just as the words left my mouth Vanilluxe shot forward at an incredible speed, a trail of bright light behind it. Without hesitation it slammed into the Mienshao.

The fighting type went tumbling backwards and as it halted, now lying on the ground, I smiled. Fainted, easily. Mirror Coat did do two times the damage taken after all.

Vanilluxe spun in a few victory circles, sending out puffs of icy air.

Marshal called back his Mienshao just as I called back Vanilluxe and briskly walked towards me with a grin.

"Now… it seems you have become the strongest trainer in the Pokémon League."

I blinked a few times. That really was what this meant. I was now officially stronger than the Elite Four.

"Wow," I squeaked.

Marshal patted me on the back, successfully knocking the air out of me with the sheer force.

"Ride on the statue in the central room and go to meet the Champion!" Marshal said, grabbing my shoulders and directing me towards yet another green dot on the floor.

"The Elite Four of Unova are wholly neutral under orders from the Champion, however… good luck, the rest is up to you," Marshal said, a grin evident in his tone.

I smiled as well, shakily walking towards the dot as I tried to regain my composure.

With another split second departure I was standing in front of the statue.

I blinked. Marshal said to ride on this thing? How?

I shook my head, calling out all six of my Pokémon.

I healed Vanilluxe and Sigilyph as well as making sure everything was in tip top shape for the rest. When I had finished my evaluation and was satisfied with all of my Pokémon's statuses I called them back and sighed.

"Ride on the statue huh?" I questioned out loud.

I stepped forward a bit until I was only a few inches from the statue. Nothing happened. I made a face, stomping my feet a bit to see if it would move. Nothing.

"Great," I whispered to myself, leaning against the statue.

The minute my hand hit the stone a loud click was heard. I froze.

Ever so slowly the statue rotated to the right, the floor underneath me moving as well as I was carried along with it. Then without warning it began moving down into the ground.

I lost any words I had conjured up in my mind as I was slowly taken beneath the earth as well and swallowed by darkness.

My heart was in my throat. Was I really ready for this? I was going to face N, and the outcome of this next battle would mean absolutely everything to not only me, but the region as well.

I gulped. Zekrom hadn't made any move so far, not stirred even in the slightest and that was what was worrying me the most.

I couldn't fight against Reshiram with just any old Pokémon. It was a legendary. Not only that but one of the Legendary Dragons that would only awaken for a hero. There were only two in existence. N had one, and I had the stone the other was in; which was a far cry from actually having the dragon in my possession.

I took a deep breath, _"Don't worry White. N believes in you, and that should mean something since he has already been recognized by the dragon," _I thought to myself.

The statue then began to slow and I swore my heart would fly out of my chest. This was it. The final battle just ahead and the fate of Unova resting on its outcome.

I was ready for this. Or at least that was what I was trying to convince myself of.

* * *

**There it is! AH! I hope you enjoyed it! And if you read all of it you literally deserve some kind of reward. Literally, I would like to give you some kind of reward... but I don't know what...**

**Anywho, only two more chapters after this one! D: All of the feels.**

**Haha, anyway, I hope you all have a great weekend! :D**


	60. The Final Battle of Truth and Ideals

**Hi there! Chapter 60! Holy moly I can't believe that I wrote 6o chapters for this story! 0.o Wow. **

**Okay, two things about this chapter.**

**Uno- Ermagerd it's long. Even longer than the last. I'm sorry, but I really wanted to get to this point by the end of this chapter! A lot happens, hence the title! I promise that this is definitely the absolute longest chapter I will ever write! So feel free to take breaks in the middle! And if you read it all I will legitimately love you forever!**

**Dos- (probably spelled that wrong. I'm not very good at Spanish, lol!) I really hope this chapter flows nicely. There is a bunch of text from the game, as I'm trying to stay quite true to it, but I always attempt to make it sound like a regular conversation... sometimes I don't think it works, sometimes I do, who knows! The first part is a little slow, but I promise it gets better! And I'm in a happy mood because this is the last battle I have to write. (I think battles are the absolute hardest things to write ever)**

**Anyway, enough of my rambles, and enjoy! :D**

* * *

_**Chapter 60: The Final Battle of Truth and Ideals**_

The light was blinding. Brighter than any light I had ever seen before as I surfaced and the statue clicked into place on a new level. I had my hands over my face, peeking through the cracks of my fingers out into the new room.

As my eyes slowly started to adjust I was able to take in my surroundings. It was a brightly lit room, brighter than any of the Elite Four's battle rooms. Aside from perhaps Marshal's with the blinding spotlights.

Tan stone floors with tan stone walls, almost blending with each other where they met in the corners, were the setting around me.

I wasn't aware anyone was in the room until my eyes had fully adjusted and I saw two figures. I recognized them almost immediately.

"It's over! You won't be able to wound Pokémon further!"

N. It was unmistakable. I pulled my hands down from my face and squinted. They were far away, N and Alder, standing across from one another. N's back was towards me, and Alder was looking at the ground. Neither one noticed my presence.

"All thanks to Reshiram," N breathed, a Pokeball in his hand, Reshiram's I presumed.

I blinked a few times, searching for any Pokémon in the room that would be Alder's, but found none. That meant N had won.

I sighed. Honestly I hadn't expected Alder to win. I had my hope that he would, but in the end I knew Reshiram would be able to overpower absolutely _any_ Pokémon aside from Zekrom, and maybe Arceus himself. N had won, which meant he was technically the Champion now.

"You're too soft," N said, pulling me out of my thoughts, "You lost a Pokémon due to illness years ago. Your main partner. Since then you have been wandering the Unova region trying to fill that void. It's been quite some time since you've earnestly fought hasn't it?" N queried, his head tilting to the right slightly as he spoke the last few words of his sentence.

Alder was still looking at the ground in a hunched over position, seemingly not able to commence any eye contact with N. I shifted to the side, hoping Alder would see the movement and feel a little better that his so called, 'backup' was here. Though I couldn't see me being much of a threat without Zekrom.

He didn't notice, and I assumed N didn't either as he continued to speak.

"That part of you may despise having Pokémon battles, however…" he trailed off and my breath caught as he looked to his right.

I thought for sure he had spotted me, and my heart rate had skyrocketed because of it, but as he turned back to face Alder I realized he still hadn't. I was a few hundred feet away after all, and it was only thanks to the echo in the large room that I could hear them at all.

My face contorted for a moment. Why was I suddenly afraid for N to see me? This whole situation was bringing up some odd feelings.

"As one much stronger than the Champion now," N continued, "I shall give Unova an order!"

N's voice suddenly boomed in the room, a sound I didn't know could come out of him. He sounded more like Ghetsis than N in that moment.

"An order for all trainers to release their Pokémon!" he finished, one hand balling into a fist and rising into the air slightly in triumph.

I looked to Alder. This was his chance to reprimand N. Maybe he could talk at least a little sense into the green haired boy, but what came out of the mighty Champion's mouth then was something I had never heard before. A plea.

"Please, anything but that," Alder said, nearly in a whisper.

I couldn't help but gasp. Alder was a very outspoken and loud man, and in the months that I had known him he had _never_ even come anywhere near a whisper.

N's head whipped around as he finally heard my small noise of surprise and noticed my presence.

I glared at him, mustering up all the hatred I had into my expression. N faltered for a moment, his mouth opening and closing, once, twice, and then forming a small grin.

"I won," he said, his voice soft once again.

I nodded once. What was I supposed to do now? Were we going to battle right here and right now? In front of Alder?

I heard a small noise and saw Alder had jerked his head up so he could see me as well, a look of complete guilt on his face.

"I'm so sorry White," he said, again nearly whispering.

I took a deep breath and picked up my right foot to begin walking towards the two men. It felt like I was walking through mud or glue as I willed myself to go towards them. I was so nervous, and every step I had to remind myself I couldn't just up and run away, that wasn't the Champion-like thing to do. And it was my ultimate goal to hold that title one day.

Alder began to speak again but I shook my head, letting him know I understood, and I wasn't upset.

Alder was like the father I never had, and I don't think I'd ever be able to be angry with him.

"I've been waiting," N said, his smile fading. I could tell he was trying not to let any emotion seep through into his expression, just as I was myself.

I nodded, stopping only a foot away from him.

N was still holding the Pokeball in his hand and out of the corner of my eye I saw it move. N noticed it too and held it out, watching the small red and white ball wiggle.

"The Dark Stone, it reacts to Reshiram," N said, not able to keep the smile out of his voice, even though he looked completely serious.

I nodded, my hand slipping into my bag until my fingertips brushed the Dark Stone. Maybe it was my imagination but I swore it was almost warm.

"A-are we going to battle here?" I asked, my voice barely even audible.

N blinked, my voice seemingly stunning him silent before he shook his head slightly.

"No, this is not the appropriate place for the dragons of legend!"

His voice steadily became louder until it sounded like he was preaching to a crowd. He glanced down at me for only a moment before looking at the ceiling and calling out his next command.

"Rise from the earth! Team Plasma's Castle! Encompass the Pokémon League!"

My head immediately snapped to Alder, looking for some kind of answer as to what N was talking about but he shook his head with wide eyes, letting me know this was as new to me as it was him.

I quickly looked back to N to see he had a grin on his face.

Nothing happened for nearly a minute and I suddenly began to question N's sanity. He had to be crazy if he thought his magical castle that I didn't even know existed would just fly out of the ground.

I heard a low grumble.

"What the," I started, looking around the room. It had sounded like a Pokémon. Maybe a Zweilous?

I heard it again, louder this time. No, whatever was making that sound was much larger than a Zweilous. A Hydreigon maybe?

"Now!" N yelled.

The sound magnified, nearly deafening as it seemed to shake the entire room we were in. Crumbles of rock fell from the ceiling and rained down as I covered my head to keep from being hit with any of them.

_"This has to be an earthquake,"_ I thought, my eyes squeezed shut.

The room shook more violently, a few cracks snaking across the stone beneath us as the rumbling intensified.

And just as soon as it had started, the noise and the shaking stopped.

I glanced over to Alder and his expression seemed to mirror mine. Complete and utter confusion.

N let out a small chortle and my gaze whipped back to him. What was this? This situation was getting weirder and weirder by the moment.

"Team Plasma's castle has manifested itself," N said, his voice sounding far away.

"Oh, my, god," I heard Alder whisper.

Without me knowing it Alder had made his way over to a moderately sized window and had his head sticking out.

I glanced at N out of the corner of my eye before jogging over to Alder's side. He moved out of the way and I then leaned forward, sticking my head out the window just has he had.

I coughed, surprise hitting me like a brick wall. Out of the window the most magnificent sight met my eyes. A castle, towering over the Pokémon League, which was, until now, the largest building in Unova.

It was like it had been pulled out of a storybook, its stone walls and pointy roof tops. I could even see a couple of grunts scrambling to their positions as guards at the top.

I pulled my head back inside and turned around, ready to barrage N with questions but to my surprise he was already moving on.

He had walked over to the far wall, the one the statue had pulled me up to and stood sideways.

N almost lazily looked back at Alder and I.

"You must come to the castle as well. There all will be decided and we will find out whose ambitions are right."

As soon as the words left his mouth he knocked twice on the wall and stepped back a few feet. With a thundering crash and a cloud of dust, something thrusted through the wall.

I coughed, choking on the particles in the air as they slowly but surely settled. When the air was completely clear I realized N was gone, and the thing that had come through the wall was a staircase, supposedly leading to the castle.

Alder and I stood in stunned silence for a minute.

"Well-"

Alder was cut off by another voice.

"Wow Alder, you look beat! That's not very Champion-like of you."

I hadn't noticed the statue leave but now as it glided to a halt it had a different passenger: Cheren.

"You made it here too Kiddo?" Alder asked, trying to put a lighthearted tone in his voice.

I could tell he was trying to sound positive like he always did, but he was having troubles.

Cheren nodded with a grin that could light up the world as he walked towards us, "I managed to win my way through the Pokémon League somehow. It was tough I guess," he said with a shrug.

Alder grinned and patted Cheren on the back, causing him to stumble forward a few feet.

Cheren nodded and looked over to the staircase now attached to the room before glancing back at me, "I've become stronger by learning what I need to do, and White, you need to talk to N!"

Cheren's statement almost sounded like a request. I couldn't help but smile to myself. In the past Cheren would have _never_ requested that I go talk to N. But now that we were in this situation, I guess desperate times called for desperate measures.

"Tell him that people can become stronger by working with Pokémon! I sure know I have," Cheren continued his face full of determination.

"His dream is preposterous," Alder spat.

We were all silent for a moment, mulling over exactly how different N's dreams were compared to everyone else's. He couldn't be right could he? One person couldn't be right when so many others believed differently.

I felt Alder's hand rest on my shoulder, "Put your soul into it, White. The guy's desperate about realizing his dream for changing the world."

Alder spun me towards him and knelt down until he was on my level, "I'm begging you," he said softly, "No good will come from the separation of humans and Pokémon. Teach it to him good!"

As Alder had continued I felt a sense of determination welling up inside me. I was going to do this. I was going to keep Pokémon and humans together. It was my job as a hero of Unova.

I was still not thoroughly convinced that I could challenge N, but after Alder's small pep-talk I was much more confident than I had ever been.

I gave him one nod, and then another nod to Cheren before bounding over to the staircase N had disappeared on only a few minutes prior.

I took one deep breath to steady my nerves before placing my foot on the first black metal step. And then I was off. Like a bullet I scaled those steps. I knew if I didn't go fast I would either chicken out or look down; the height would've no doubtedly scared me stiff and then I would've been stranded out on that staircase, floating over the ground, nearly twenty stories up.

When I reached the top of the staircase I didn't hesitate as I burst through the opening and into the castle.

I was breathing hard, hands on my knees as I tried to catch my breath.

I only looked up as I heard someone clear their throat. My head whipped up and my heart sank. In front of me stood six men, all looking a bit agitated by my appearance.

My eyes swept over the line of elders and when my gaze landed on the man to the far right I finally realized who these people were. The Sages of Team Plasma. For a moment I contemplated that there were supposed to be seven, not six, but when I realized Ghetsis was absent I nodded to myself in understanding.

The one Sage I knew, Zinzolin, the one I had met in Cold Storage spoke up.

"We have a serious affair with our king. A collapsing of Lord Ghetsis' perfect plan you could say…," he trailed off.

I straightened up as my heart rate calmed and my breathing was back to normal from my long trek up the stairs. What was Zinzolin talking about? He was talking about Ghetsis as if this was _his_ plan and not N's. I shook my head to clear if of these thoughts. He probably had just misspoken.

"Lord N is dejected, and seeks closure but us six shall defeat you right here!" he bellowed out the rest of his sentence and I froze, my hand suddenly shooting into my bag for a pokeball.

I hadn't imagined in a million years there would be yet another obstacle before I was able to challenge N.

"Can ya really do that?" A voice echoed out behind me with a drawl that was hard to mistake.

"Clay?" I breathed quietly as I turned to see the southern man sauntering up to stand to my left.

Clay's eye moved down to me and he smirked, "Still ain't worn out White? Heh."

I grinned.

"You…," Zinzolin hissed, "The leader of Driftveil!"

I almost chuckled to myself. The last time Zinzolin and Clay had run into each other Zinzolin ended up being taken as a hostage and went through the degrading process of having to have Ghetsis come to his rescue.

"Ain't just me," Clay said, an air of arrogance in in his voice.

I could've cried out in joy as I heard sets of footsteps behind me and ever so slowly faces that I knew started to appear.

"Sucks for you," Lenora said, one hand on her hip as she grinned at the shocked Sages, "Not only are we tough, we've got numbers too!"

Lenora leaned forward to look past Clay to me and gave a wink before straightening back up and putting a hand on Clay's shoulder.

"Gym leaders." I heard a slightly stunned voice say and looked to the shortest Sage in the group. He looked rather hesitant, his eyes flicking back and forth almost as if he was scared.

"Team Plasma."

I looked to my right to see Elesa come to stand by my side.

"As a Gym Leader it would be a terrible thing for me to leave you alone!" she half shouted at the criminals in front of us.

Before I knew it five more familiar faces had come to stand in our line, almost acting as a barrier to the Sages.

"Erm," Burgh started, leaning forward so he could look at Elesa, "Also, Bianca asked us to come."

Elesa shot him a glare and he chuckled.

I blinked. Bianca had sent them? She had to have seen the castle rise out of the ground then; there wouldn't have been any way she would've known ahead of time. I gave a warm smile to no one in particular. Friends. I had wonderful friends, all looking out for me and helping me along. I had even made friends with the Gym Leaders, and that was why they were standing by my side now.

I looked down the line to my right to see Skyla and Brycen were now standing next to Elesa and Burgh. Skyla gave me a wave and a wink and Brycen sent a nod my way.

I looked down the line to my left to see Iris and Drayden were standing next to Lenora and Clay. Iris grinned from ear to ear and nodded, almost as if motioning me on. I gave her an inquisitive look and Drayden answered my unspoken question.

"Go on ahead White, we can handle things from here," he said, never taking his eyes off of Team Plasma.

I could almost feel the energy and aggression flowing from the Gym Leaders to the Sages and without waiting for me to move on they began their battle. With a flurry of voices eight Pokémon were now out on the Gym Leader's side and six on the Sages'.

"Go on now child!" Lenora said, giving me an exasperated look.

I nodded slightly watching as the Watchog in front of her flexed its arms for battle.

I quickly scurried past the Sages, who now seemed to not be worried with battling me as they suddenly wanted to defeat Unova's prized Gym Leaders.

There was only one door in the room, a small one at that and I ran to it as fast as my legs could carry me so I could move on before the battle began.

As I wrenched open the door and pulled myself through it I glanced back at the Gym Leaders who were all in a similar stance, leaning forward with their most powerful Pokémon in front of them. Clay had his Excadrill, Skyla her Swoobat, Burgh his Leavanny, Brycen his Beartic, Elesa her Zebstrika, and both Iris and Drayden had a Haxorus standing at the ready.

I took a deep breath. I had made so many allies on my journey, and they were definitely coming in handy, much more than I could've ever imagined.

I shut the door behind me as I faced another room. This one however was much different. I could tell that the room with the Sages had been almost like the entrance, a place to wipe off your feet and get ready to enter the castle, and now I was officially inside.

I looked to my right and then my left, an incredibly long hallway stretching out on all sides. I squinted. I couldn't see the end of any of them; which way was I supposed to go?

I felt a sudden cold breeze blow from my right and I froze, the feeling that someone was behind me plaguing my senses.

"Come," a voice said and I slowly turned to my right until I was facing the man I supposed it would be. The leader of the Shadow Triad.

I opened my mouth but before I could answer he had already started walking down the hallway to the right. I quickly skidded out of my standing position and high tailed it after the man whose steady pace was hard to keep up with.

As we walked I got a good look at the castle. It was magnificent. Well lit hallways with large wooden doors on either side, evenly spaced. I had an overwhelming urge to open them and see exactly what was housed in this castle but I figured if I did I would either get in trouble, or I would lose the Shadow Triad member in front of me, and he was my only guide.

Dark green tile lined every inch of the hallway floors along with the stair cases we had to climb. I thought I had probably ended up on a floor near the top when I had followed N, but apparently I was wrong. Five, six, seven staircases we scaled, all going higher and higher. Each floor looked almost identical and my curiosity for what lay behind the many wooden doors increased.

"Here." The Shadow Triad member stopped abruptly and I almost ran into his back.

He motioned to a door on our left that looked exactly like all the others. I gave him an inquisitive look. Would this be the place where I would challenge N?

His silver eyes landed on me and noticed my hesitance. "Our lord wishes for a fair fight. Therefore, feel free to rest your Pokémon here."

With that he was gone, vanished into thin air and I gulped. How did they do that? Was it some sort of magic? I turned to face the door. Did Team Plasma have a Nurse Joy of their own? I looked to the stone pillars on either side of the door, nearly twenty feet tall. The castle was nothing short of astounding.

I shook my head and walked forward, trying to shake my amazement. My hand grasped onto the large brass handle to the door and slowly pushed it open. It was heavy but I managed to heave it open enough that I could squeeze through. When I had I quietly shut it behind me I turned to face the room head on.

In front of me was a counter that looked much like the ones in Pokémon centers, however instead of a Nurse Joy there were two women standing behind the counter.

"I am Anthea, the goddess of love," the one on the left spoke up with a warm smile.

She held out her hands, asking for my Pokeballs. I hesitated. These were members of Team Plasma, for all I knew they wanted to steal my Pokémon. The women named Anthea seemed to realize why I was so cautious.

"Don't worry. We are following Lord N's wishes by healing your Pokémon, nothing more."

I slowly inched my way towards the counter and fished all five of my Pokeballs out of my bag, along with snapping Talace's ball out of the necklace and handing it to her as well. The pink haired woman smiled and disappeared into a back room.

"I am Concordia, the goddess of peace," the other woman said, her bright yellow hair flowing as she leaned forward to grab my hand.

Her voice was much higher in pitch as well as much softer than Anthea's and I suddenly felt completely calm.

"You will grant N peace," she said softly.

My eyes snapped open wide. What?

"N has been apart from humans since a very young age," she began, her eyes looking almost glassy as she seemingly remembered the past, "Raised instead by Pokémon."

My entire body froze. N was raised by Pokémon? That's impossible! He had told me that he always preferred to be around Pokémon more than humans but he had never told me he was _raised_ by them.

Concordia nodded, my hand still in her feather light grasp, "Pokémon betrayed, oppressed, wounded by evil people. Those were the only Pokémon Ghetsis would allow to approach N after he took him in."

My head was spinning. None of this made any sense. N was raised by Pokémon to then be taken in by Ghetsis? So that would mean Ghetsis wasn't actually N's real father, even though they looked so much alike. And then N was only able to see Pokémon who had been abused by humans? I was starting to doubt whether this woman had her sanity intact.

"N saw those wounds and came to adopt an ideal of only Pokémon. That way no humans would be able to harm Pokémon further."

I had no idea whether or not to believe her.

"N's excessively pure and innocent heart…," Concordia trailed off, looking behind me.

I leaned forward, waiting for her to continue. This part I could believe. N was quite innocent from what I could tell.

"It's too beautiful to be frightening…and yet-"

She was cut off by a voice behind me.

"Concordia that's enough."

It was the Shadow Triad member again.

Concordia's eyes flashed a hint of fear before she smiled and nodded. By the tone in the Shadow member's voice I almost had the feeling that she had told me more than she should have. Were they trying to keep some sort of secret about N's past?

_"I have a headache,"_ I thought to myself. I had no idea what to think about what she had said, but as she looked back to me with an expression of pure truth I suddenly began to believe all she had explained.

It sure would explain some things about N's beliefs. I know if I had only been exposed to Pokémon who were hurt by humans I would feel as if humans could only _hurt_ Pokémon, not help them. My heart suddenly felt for N. What kind of life had he had up to this point?

I knew I hadn't gotten the full story, and perhaps I was reading into what she had said, but something told me maybe I wasn't. And that this whole issue with Team Plasma was a bit more complicated than I had ever imagined.

I heard movement and a flash of pink as Anthea came back out of the back room with all of my Pokeballs intact.

"Here you go, all healthy!" she said, handing them over to me.

I thanked her and slipped five back into my bag, snapping Talace's back into the necklace.

"Trainers never fight to wound Pokémon," Anthea said just as I was about to turn and leave. I froze and looked back to her.

"N knows this deep down, but admitting it would change his world," she finished, a look of sadness etched on her features.

My heart nearly skipped a beat. Maybe there was hope to convince N after all.

"Lord N is the hero of the ideal. But does he want to protect this world where you now walk with Pokémon? You'll find out."

The voice that spoke was slightly different and as I turned around I realized yet another Triad member was in our presence. In the dimly lit room I couldn't make out which Triad member was which, but as the third appeared I realized it most likely didn't matter.

"The room next to this one," the newcomer began, "It was the only world Lord N was given. Even if I entered I would feel nothing, but perhaps you would feel something different."

Confusion was the only emotion I felt at this point. In the past five minutes I had been not only barraged by a ton of sketchy information, but had also been given a bit of hope. If N's ideals only came because of his past, perhaps I actually _would_ be able to convince him to see things my way. However I most likely wouldn't be able to do that until after I won our battle. And I still didn't have Zekrom. My heart sank.

I heard a creak and looked up to see one of the Shadow Triad members holding open the door for me.

"Go on, first door to your left."

I robotically walked forward and through the door. The moment I passed over the threshold the door slammed behind me and I jumped. It was almost eerie now. Before I had been amazed by the castle's interior but now as I was contemplating the information about N's past everything just seemed a bit creepy.

I shook the slight hint of fear and walked only a few feet to my left before I saw another door. I took a deep breath. I had no idea what the Shadow member had meant by what he had said about this room. He had insinuated that this was N's room, but apparently there was something different about it?

With another heave I had the door open and the sight that hit me was far from anything I had expected. My hand let go of the door handle immediately and clapped over my mouth, a wave of emotion sweeping over me.

A child's room. There was no other way to describe it. Blue carpeting with white puffy clouds stretched across the entire room. Brightly colored walls with pictures of Pokémon sloppily painted on its surface. Toys, toys scattered everywhere. Blocks, balls, balloons, skateboards, cars, even a motorized train set slowly and quietly buzzed around in the corner. A half-pipe with a basketball hoop at one end was in front of me. And bookshelves, tons of them, books of all sizes crammed into them.

As I looked at the room that was basically pulled out of a dream my heart cracked. This was N's room. Not only his childhood room, but the one he apparently still resided in. The doubt I had held onto about what Anthea and Concordia had said vanished in that moment and I realized they had been telling nothing but the truth. N had been kept in this room his entire life, not exposed to anything except what Ghetsis wanted him to see. That was why he was so innocent and naïve. It was how he had been raised.

"Ah, I see you've found it, holder of the Dark Stone."

The voice that spoke from behind me grated on my nerves, sounding almost like nails on a chalkboard in that moment.

I spun around, hands balled into fists and a few tears in my eyes as I glared at the man that had been the culprit in not only confining N in this room, but the one that had N convinced Pokémon liberation was the right thing to do.

"You," I hissed.

Ghetsis looked at me almost lazily, "Well I see that between seeing this room and what Concordia and Anthea spilled that you have some of it figured out at least."

I took a deep breath to keep from shaking in anger. Exactly how much of what N believed was his doing and how much was just because of Ghetsis?

"This castle that was once concealed under the Pokémon League is a sign that Unova will change! The lord of the castle has tamed the legendary dragon and defeated the Champion, the ultimate trainer!"

Ghetsis almost looked mad as he began yet another speech, so similar to the others he had preached to the public. They were all about N, and how he was recognized and how he would change Unova for the better, but as Ghetsis continued I realized this speech would end differently.

"And furthermore his heart burns with ideas of what he wishes to do with the world. If you wouldn't call him a hero, just who would you?"

I kept my mouth glued shut, for fear I would say something I would regret.

"Once the stage is set, we will capture people's hearts! A simple desire of mine, rather of Team Plamsa's! With only us in control of Pokémon we will rule the powerless."

I took in a sharp gasp of air. It was never his intention to let all Pokémon free, only the public's, that way Team Plasma could rule Unova by force. It was all beginning to make sense now, the pieces of the puzzle slowly put into place.

Ghetsis cracked a grin, "Ah, I see you understand now. It's been so long! I've lived in hiding so my plan would not be exposed… but those days of suffering are over!"

Suffering. He called that suffering? He had to be truly insane.

"Now continue, N is waiting. Will you become a hero too? I guess there's no hurt in _trying_."

I flinched at his emphasis on the word, 'trying'. He thought I couldn't do it. I made a face of determination as I stalked past him and out the door again. As soon I was back out in the hallway I saw where I would be battling N, I didn't know how I could've missed it before.

The door, or rather archway, to the left of N's room was gigantic and light flooded through it into the hallway, creating a slice of sunlight.

I turned slightly so I was looking at Ghetsis again.

"Have you told N of your plan?" I asked.

N surely wouldn't be going along with something so preposterous, surely he would be able to put Ghetsis in his place, he had Reshiram at his command after all.

Ghetsis smirked, "Now why would I do that, my dear?"

Of course he hadn't told him, that would've ruined his precious plan. I tried to give the large Sage the most hateful expression I could before stalking down the rest of the way to the arch and without taking time to gather my thoughts, I marched through.

The new room looked like what I imagined it would. It was huge, larger than any stadium I had seen or been in before. Tan and white tile beneath my feet covered the entire floor and tan stone walls were encasing the room with intricate designs on their surfaces. For a moment I almost had a flashback to my party. I had actually been in this castle before, I just hadn't realized it.

"Hello White," N's smooth voice hit my ears as he stepped out from behind one of the six stone pillars in the room. He was standing on the far side of the room, so far away I could barely hear him. I wasn't sure what emotion was the strongest at that point. I still felt a bit of anger towards N for his ambitions but now it was tinted with sadness. I shook my head to clear it. I still needed to fight my hardest to win, no matter what I felt for this boy.

"What I want is a world of only Pokémon," N nearly whispered. I had to crane my neck and perk my ears to even hear him.

"By separating Pokémon from people, they will regain their natural power. Now, this will be our final battle."

My heart beat faster. It would be. This would be the battle that would decide everything. Suddenly my fiery determination was back and my anger towards N was once again full-fledged.

"I am prepared!" N shouted; "Even if during this battle my Pokémon friends are wounded, my beliefs will prevail!" he quieted. "Since you have come this far, certainly you must feel something similar?"

I nodded, knowing exactly how N felt. I hated watching my Pokémon getting wounded during a battle, but with this battle, I would fight my hardest, because there was more than just a win and a loss at stake.

N smiled at my nod, "If you do, I ask you to come forth and show it to me! Prepare yourself!"

I braced myself. This was it; nothing else stood in my way before I would battle N. Zekrom flitted across my mind for a second. He still wasn't here, but I shoved it out of my thoughts. Maybe I could win with just my regular team.

N paused, looking around the room before frowning, "You came all this way with the intent to battle me. Yet Zekrom is not reacting. Does it still not recognize you as a hero?"

I felt a lump rise in my throat. All this time I had doubted myself, N was the one who was beyond positive Zekrom would recognize me, and yet now he seemed to look almost disappointed in me. Maybe I wasn't the other hero after all.

"How sad," N said, looking suddenly like he was bored with the situation, "I've taken quite a liking to you though."

I couldn't help but blush. _"Get it together, White!"_ I shouted at myself. This was no time to get flustered by something N had said.

"In our battles I felt you could be a trainer who valued their Pokémon! But it seems now that was nothing more than a baseless assumption."

The lump was back. I was useless. N was going to take over Unova and because I wasn't good enough to be a hero, I was just going to be forced to sit back and watch. I wasn't able to do anything. I was hopeless.

"You have two options!" N began once again, "Fight a hopeless battle, or leave here and let Pokémon be separated from humans to form a new world. Which will it be?"

I sighed. I had to fight, even if as N said, it was hopeless.

"I'll fight," I said, trying to force a sound of determination into my voice.

N nodded, "Very well. Reshiram, come!"

The minute the words left N's mouth a deafening boom was heard and through the far wall, the one behind N, came Reshiram. It moved slowly, ducking its great white head as it moved into the room to stand in front of N, readying itself for battle. Over the months I had known Reshiram it had come to like me but now as it stood poised for a fight it looked fearsome. His teeth were bared and his fur on end, awaiting what would happen next.

And what did happen next nearly took my breath away. My bag jolted. I looked down at it to see a dark misty like substance floating out the top. My eyes squinted in confusion. I gently reached into the bag and pulled out the Dark Stone which was the culprit in giving off the strange mist. The stone was almost lightly glowing as it shook slightly.

"Your Dark Stone is… No, Zekrom is…" N trailed off, sounding like he couldn't believe what was happening.

Suddenly the stone was burning hot. I hissed as I quickly pulled my hands away and the stone began to fall, however the instant before it hit the ground it halted, floating only a few inches above the ground.

The stone rocked in the air a bit before slowly beginning to rise. My eyes couldn't have gotten any larger as I watched the stone ever so slowly float in front of me until it was eye level with Reshiram. I rubbed my hand which still felt like it was burning as I watched the stone intently.

The black mist stopped and the stone halted. And as it made its next move I swore time slowed.

A loud buzz broke out into the room, the sound almost throbbing in the air, curiously sounding like a heartbeat as the buzzes morphed into booms. And with a deafening crack the stone flashed white.

If I had thought time was going slow before it was barely moving now. Everything was in slow motion. Reshiram stepping backward slightly, N's awed expression, my thoughts, and the small bubble that the stone had become.

A ring of light that resembled a bubble slowly began to grow from the glowing white oval that was once the Dark Stone and as it did, I saw there was a creature inside.

"Zekrom," I whispered to myself.

He was curled in tightly as I got a better view of him, his arms wrapped close to him and his legs scrunched into a position that didn't look in the least bit comfortable. In a few moments the bubble stopped growing and Zekrom's full size was revealed. The glowing ceased and the light aura faded.

Zekrom stayed still for a moment, everyone in the rooms breath hitched in their throats. Only the thumping sound could be heard, and indeed it was the dragon's heartbeat. And then it happened. With a slight movement Zekrom's eye snapped open, the glowing red orb flicking around to take in his surroundings.

I couldn't breathe. He was a breathtaking creature, and yet incredibly terrifying.

With slow and labored movements Zekrom stretched out one leg to touch the ground, and then the other. Then both arms stretched out and with a loud whoosh his wings were fanning out to his sides. He moved his limbs carefully, acting like he _had_ in fact been sleeping for thousands of years.

Zekrom stilled after a moment, his eyes looking from N, to Reshiram, and then finally landing on me.

"Zekrom and Reshiram," N whispered, a grin on his face, "Originally one life, one Pokémon. Distinctly opposite and yet exactly the same entity."

I gave a half-hearted nod as my eyes were still glued to the giant black dragon in front of me.

"Zekrom and Reshiram both appeared before the ones they recognize as heroes. I see I was wrong about you after all," N said, letting out a quiet chuckle.

"Do you hear the Pokémon speaking?" N asked, his eyes now glued to Zekrom as well, "Let me tell you what he says," N finished, not giving me time to tell him that I most certainly didn't know what he was saying.

Zekrom grunted, letting out a low but still quite loud roar.

"I want to fight you. Make me your ally!" N said, apparently translating, "He wants to test if you have come this far seeking truth. I want to know your power as well! Now, catch Zekrom! Befriend him!"

I gulped as I looked to N and then back to Zekrom. How was I supposed to fight a legendary dragon on my own? My hand fumbled with Talace's Pokeball but I stopped my struggle to get it free when Zekrom began advancing towards me, his feet booming on the ground with every step. I froze as the dragon stopped only a few feet away and slowly bent over until his head was on my level.

His eyes flicked back and forth to both of mine before he let out a low growl. I glanced to N for translation. N looked frozen in place as he opened and closed his mouth a few times before speaking, "He says he doesn't need a battle to know that you seek the truth. He will go by his own will."

My gaze snapped back to the dragon in front of me and it nodded slightly, its giant head creating a breeze as it moved.

I slowly reached into my bag and pulled out an Ultra Ball. Zekrom's eyes were glued to the ball as I held it out in front of me.

He glanced from me then to the ball and then back again before almost grinning, his jagged and sharp teeth glistening in the light. He leaned forward and gently tapped his nose on the ball. He became a white blob before being sucked in. My heart nearly stopped as the black, gold, and white ball wiggled in my hand. Once to the left.

My heart again got a jumpstart. This was almost surreal. The legendary dragon actually had recognized me after all, and not only that but was happy to become my Pokémon.

It rocked once to the right. I held my breath. With one final rock to the left and a loud click the dot in the center of the ball went white and I successfully had captured myself a dragon of legend.

"I see," N said, shoving both hands into his pockets as I turned to face him.

I had Zekrom now; I was truly ready to battle.

"It is said that power was lent to the hero who pursued truth. Zekrom has recognized your power and has chosen to walk with you. Well then…" N trailed off, a small smile on his face, one of encouragement. The smile almost said 'good job' to me. Maybe it was my imagination but I swore it did.

"I have seen the future of Unova! I _will_ win! Reshiram!" N called out, any smile he had fading as he finally threw himself into battle.

I nearly dropped Zekrom's ball as Reshiram let out a mighty roar and slammed his left and then right foot on the ground, causing the entire room to shake.

I closed my eyes, blocking out any thoughts or apprehensions I had had about this battle. It was time, and I would win.

My eyes snapped open, "Zekrom!"

I threw the Ultra Ball out into the room and Zekrom had appeared within moments, also slamming his feet on the ground, trying to make himself look tough.

Zekrom was a good foot and a half shorter than Reshiram, but he was covered in scaly plates that in my mind would act as armor, compared to the soft fur of Reshiram.

_"Here we go,"_ I thought to myself. The recreation of the battle of Unova. The two heroes and the two dragons.

"Reshiram Hyper Beam!"

I only paused for a second, my surprise causing me to falter. N was using such a powerful move, and on the first turn as well.

"Alright Zekrom, you use Hyper Beam as well!"

Two roars echoed out in the room as the beams of light flew towards each other and crashed, the energy overflowing and exploding on impact.

As the smoke cleared I saw N smile, "Just as to be expected from the dragons of legend."

I nodded as I craned my neck to look up at Zekrom. He was pure power.

"Zekrom, Hyper Beam again!" I called. It took Pokémon a while to charge after using such a powerful attack but something told me this dragon was a bit faster at regaining his energy. And I was right.

With a roar another beam of blinding light shot out of Zekrom's mouth and hurtled toward Reshiram.

"Reflect!" N called.

Reshiram's wings flew out to the side before he was engulfed in a silvery coating that reminded me very much of Vanilluxe's Mirror Coat.

The Hyper Beam slammed into Reshiram, but the dragon didn't move. With a flick of his right wing the beam of light curved and went flying back towards Zekrom.

"Uh oh," I said out loud. Zekrom was powerful, but he wasn't exactly fast.

"Hit it with Zen Headbutt!"

Before I had even gotten my command out all the way Zekrom's skull was glowing, and without hesitation he charged at his attack that had been thrown back at him.

He crashed into it head on and I flinched, wondering if my plan would work. Zekrom's eye squinted and he growled. I could tell some of the Hyper Beam's energy was doing damage but as he threw his head forward and caused the beam of light to once again change direction I realized Reshiram would still be getting most of the injury.

With a strangled roar Reshiram stumbled backwards after the impact of the Hyper beam, the white fur on its chest now singed a bit grey.

Zekrom stalked back over to stand in front of me, his Zen Headbutt attack fading.

"You okay?" I asked.

His red eyes shifted down to me and he again grinned, his teeth sparkling.

I chuckled.

"Extrasensory!" N called.

My attention was back on the white dragon as it took in a deep breath and screamed out its attack. The sound waves were visible in the air as they hurtled into Zekrom. I closed my eyes and covered my ears. The sound was deafening and as I peered up at Zekrom I could tell it was killing him more than it was me.

"Try to block the sound with Light Screen!" I yelled, hoping he could still hear me over the noise.

With a bit of a struggle he got his arms out in front of him and with a quick movement a makeshift shield was in front of him, the sound waves bouncing off of it.

"Clever," N trailed off, "Alright Reshiram, stop and use Hyper Beam again!"

"Try and keep your shield strong!" I called as once again a bright cylinder of light flew out of Reshiram's mouth and towards Zekrom.

Zekrom nodded and leaned into the sheet of glass his Light Screen had created as the Hyper Beam hit. I could see the muscles rippling in Zekrom's arms as he shoved against the Hyper Beam attack.

I marveled at his strength. I had only known Zekrom for a few minutes and yet somehow we were battling almost as well as I did with my other Pokémon. Maybe this dragon _was_ always meant for me.

A loud crack pulled me out of my thoughts and I quickly looked for the source. And when I found it my heart sank. Zekrom's Light Screen had small cracks snaking out from the center, it wouldn't hold up for much longer.

"Um," I mumbled, trying desperately to come up with a solution but before I could there was another loud snap and my dragon's Light Screen had officially been broken. A strangled cry left Zekrom's mouth as the Hyper Beam smashed into him full force.

He stumbled back a few steps, wavering and barely catching his balance. Zekrom's eyes were closed as he heaved to catch his breath and shake off the Hyper Beam, and it only took him a few seconds to do so.

His eyes snapped back open and he leaned forward, ready for my next command.

For a moment I marveled. This dragon was incredible. A Hyper Beam attack from Reshiram would no doubt knock out absolutely any Pokémon, but here Zekrom was, poised for his next attack.

I mulled over Zekrom's strengths for a moment. He was incredibly strong, but not exactly fast. I needed to get Reshiram in a position where Zekrom would be able to get a direct hit without Reshiram being able to dodge.

"Zen Headbutt!" I called.

N tsked, "That won't work White, Reshiram can dodge."

I flinched. Maybe he was right, Reshiram was just too fast.

Zekrom's skull once again glowed a bright gold in color as he attempted to run at Reshiram.

"Dodge it!" N called.

Reshiram threw out his wings and right before Zekrom's attack hit he flew upwards, successfully dodging.

I glanced to Zekrom who looked furious that his attack had missed. Reshiram was in the air now and I contemplated for a moment if Zekrom would be able to go after it. He had wings, granted they looked like they would barely hold his weight, but wings nonetheless.

"Fly up after it!"

I was almost surprised at the speed Zekrom got when he pushed off the ground and effectively took flight. He zoomed after Reshiram and I swore I could almost see a look of fear in N's eyes. He had realized I had not only found Zekrom's weakness but his strength now as well.

"Zen Headbutt!" I called.

Reshiram swooped downward and landed on the ground the minute I called the attack for Zekrom. The black dragon changed direction almost immediately and without any hesitation came slamming down, headfirst into Reshiram.

Reshiram cried out on impact and stumbled backwards and into one of the large stone pillars in the room. It shook. For a moment I was afraid that it would be knocked over and the ceiling would come crashing down, the six large stone cylinders did seem to be holding the entire room up. But the shaking soon ceased as Reshiram pushed itself off of the pillar and supported its weight on its own again.

"Stay close to it," I said, my eyes squinting at the white dragon. Zekrom would have the upper hand as long as he was within arm's reach of Reshiram. "Get ahold of it and use Hyper Beam!" I called.

It was a rather brutal command as I look back on it now but I knew I had to take drastic measures in a time like that.

Zekrom's scaly hand was on Reshiram's throat in an instant, the beam of light slowly forming in his mouth.

"You use Hyper Beam too Reshiram," N said rather calmly.

I had seen my fair share of explosions due to attacks on my journey. But the impact of this one was overwhelming.

The two Hyper Beam attacks hit each other, Reshiram and Zekrom only about a foot and half apart, and exploded. Due to the close proximity of the two dragons and their attacks I knew it would be devastating, and indeed it was. With a loud crack and then a deafening boom the explosion took place, the entire room suddenly filled with debris and smoke. I heard shattering glass and the entire room shook. I couldn't see more than a few inches in front of my face so I resorted to staying still, afraid I would get crushed by something if I moved even an inch.

It was quiet then, not even breathing could be heard as the dust slowly cleared. My eyes widened slowly.

All of the intricate windows in the room were shattered, glass scattered all around the now holes in the walls where the windows had been. The two pillars in the middle were basically obliterated as large chunks of stone lay across the floor. I looked to the ceiling to see a giant hole was now in the top, causing sunlight to filter through and into the room. I marveled. Those attacks had done some serious damage. I guess that was the true power of a legendary dragon.

My eyes were then on Zekrom and Reshiram, both shaking while struggling to pull themselves off the floor. Reshiram's white fur was now a brownish color and Zekrom's sleek body was covered in scratches.

I think in that moment both N and I sensed the next move would be the last.

"Fusion Flare!" N called the moment Reshiram was in a standing position.

Zekrom's gaze snapped back to me with a bit of fear. That was Reshiram's special move.

Zekrom and Reshiram due to the impact of the Hyper Beam attacks were now far away from each other, but I knew no matter how far away they were, an attack of that caliber was going to do some damage.

I took a deep breath before calling out Zekrom's next move, "Fusion Bolt!"

Almost at the exact same time the floor around both dragons began to glow. Swirling orange and red energy circled around Reshiram while glowing yellow and white energy flowed around Zekrom.

Reshiram let out a low growl, seemingly from the back of its throat as it glared at Zekrom, the rings around its tail glowing orange. As I glanced up at Zekrom I realized he looked exactly the same, baring his teeth as his generator of a tail glowed blue.

"Go!" N and I shouted at the exact same time.

As Reshiram and Zekrom leaned backwards before roaring out their attacks time seemed to slow once again. Fusion Flare and Fusion Bolt were insanely powerful. They were the two moves of the two legendary dragons that created Unova, and for the first time in over a thousand years, these dragons were using their signature attacks again.

A burst of flame circled by a swirling orange light flew out of Reshiram's mouth as a burst of electricity circled by a swirling yellow light flew out of Zekrom's.

The attacks barely missed each other, almost scraping against one another as they passed in the air before hitting right on their mark.

I gritted my teeth as the flames hit Zekrom square in the chest. His eyes squinched shut as he tried to come to terms with the pain of such a scorching attack. As the Fusion Flare attack subsided and Zekrom's eyes opened again I paid no attention to N or Reshiram.

"You okay?" I asked carefully.

Zekrom was shaking now, looking like he could fall over at any moment. His head weakly turned to look down at me and he let out a grunt. He sounded sad, and as he slowly began to fall forward I knew why. He was at his limit.

"No," I whispered to myself as the giant dragon went crashing to the ground. A crash echoed out in the room as he did so and my hand flew over my mouth. The crash had seemed a bit louder than I would've thought. I slowly glanced back over at N and my sorrow turned to hopefulness. On the floor in front of him was yet another collapsed dragon. Reshiram had been at his limit as well, they had fallen at the same time, which was why the crash had been so loud.

N's eyes couldn't have gotten any larger in that moment as he looked up at me with a sort of panic in his expression. But I knew my face looked different. I probably looked happy. Zekrom and Reshiram's battle had ended in a tie. Both dragons and their heroes fighting with the same amount of conviction. At least I hadn't lost.

"Reshiram return," N called. Reshiram turned into a flowing red light before being pulled back into his pokeball.

I glanced back down at Zekrom before pulling out his ball as well, "You were amazing," I said, still marveling at his strength before he was pulled back inside his new home as well.

I gently leaned over to where my bag was sitting and placed Zekrom's ball inside, pulling out my next. Since the dragons hadn't answered the question of which one of us was right, it would come down to our regular teams, and I was pumped.

Without hesitation I called out my Pokémon, "Chandelure, let's go!"

N silently called out his next and when I got a full view of the Klinklang I grinned. This was going to be an easy match.

"Chandelure, Flame Burst!"

I wanted these next battles to be good ones. With Zekrom and Reshiram's battle I was still getting used to the dragon, and I was going rather slowly as my thought process had been given many speed bumps as I tried to figure out how to battle with Zekrom. Hopefully the next few battles would be different. I had had almost a year and a half of experience with these Pokémon after all.

Chandelure threw its arms forward and out of the cups of fire on the ends shot large hunks of flame.

"Thunderbolt!" N called.

The flame hit the Klinklang before its attack was fired and it screeched in discomfort as the scorching fire hit it right on target. It only took the steel type a moment to recover however and the Thunderbolt attack was fired off sooner than I had expected. The electricity crackled in the air as it shot forward towards Chandelure.

"Stop it with Shadow Ball, then Flame Burst again!"

Chandelure was probably my strongest after Talace. I had worked long and hard with him and not only was he quite powerful, but incredibly speedy as well.

The ghost type attack was formed almost instantaneously and chucked straight at the Thunderbolt attack. It held off the electricity long enough for Chandelure to get out of the way.

I almost couldn't keep track of where Chandelure was as it blurred across the room, firing its Flame Burst attack at the Klinklang as it moved. Once again the fire-type attack hit head on.

"Hang in there," N said, sounding almost pained. But his encouragements weren't enough. The Klinklang went crashing to the ground, fainted.

I blinked several times. I knew Chandelure was powerful, and a fire type attack would be super effective, but I hadn't imagined a battle with N would be that easy.

N returned his fainted Pokémon and silently whispered something to it before calling out his next.

"Vanilluxe!"

I shook my head. Would he ever learn?

"Alright Chandelure," I started, deciding to change things up a bit, "Toxic!"

N's eyebrow raised, he no doubt expected me to use my fire type attack against an ice type, but I had a surprise up my sleeve.

The ball of purple fluid Chandelure produced landed right on top of the Vanilluxe, dousing it in poison, its surface now tinted maroon.

"Blizzard!" N called, seemingly not worried that his Pokémon now had a status issue to work over.

With a jingle the Vanilluxe spun rapidly, snow and ice seemingly flying off of it as it twirled and swirled around the room. I shivered almost immediately as the temperature in the room dropped drastically. I wrapped my arms around myself for added warmth before opening my eyes a crack, trying to see through the Blizzard. After a few moments the snow and ice ceased and I was able to get a full view of Chandelure again. I flinched.

Chandelure's main body was covered in ice, icicles hanging off of its arms as it shuddered and tried to stay in the air. It was frozen.

_"Status conditions everywhere,"_ I thought to myself as I glanced over at the Vanilluxe who was shuddering slightly as well as the poison slowly drained its energy.

"Um," I said, trailing off. Chandelure wouldn't be able to do much as long as it was frozen. "Use Flame Burst on yourself!"

I have to admit that was probably one of the most outrageous attacks I had ever seen called. And I had seen Ash call some pretty crazy things for his Pokémon to do. I just hoped to Arceus it would work.

With a bit of a struggle Chandelure managed to point its goblets at itself and in a split second was shooting his flaming attack towards himself. N looked like he might fall over in shock as somehow my odd idea began to work, the crystals of ice slowly melting away.

I chuckled. I had sure lucked out on that one.

"Alrighty then," I called as Chandelure ceased its attack and the ice was successfully melted, "Hex!"

N once again looked confused that I wasn't using my fire type attack on an ice type, but I knew I wouldn't need it this time. Since Vanilluxe was affected by poison, a Hex attack would suddenly get a boost in power, then becoming almost as devastating as a Hyper Beam.

A wall of purple smoke rose in front of me, stretching from the ground all the way to the ceiling, and with a skilled move from Chandelure the wall of smoke swept across the battle field and right into Vanilluxe. A hissing sound was heard as the Hex took effect on the Vanilluxe and as it shook in the air I knew it was over.

It came crashing to the floor a second later and N returned it with another pained glance.

What was this? I had already knocked out two of N's Pokémon without even breaking a sweat. I had definitely expected him to put up more of a fight.

"See how you like this one," N almost whispered as he called out his next choice. Carracosta.

I for a moment recollected the first time I had seen N's Carracosta. It had helped us search for Team Rocket's underwater base when looking for the baby Lugia. I smiled. That had been the first time N had met Brock.

I shook my head to bring myself out of my thoughts. I had to concentrate, especially since this was the first time Chandelure faced a disadvantage.

"Waterfall!" N called.

"Oh crap," I whispered to myself as the roaring water came crashing down from the ceiling.

Chandelure hissed out in discomfort as the water doused its flames, and I prayed they would stay lit. As the water ceased I was thankful that all five flames were still flickering on Chandelure, even though they were pretty dim.

"Shadow Ball!" I called.

Chandelure's reaction was slightly delayed as it tried to form the ghost type attack, but after a bit, it managed to form its attack. It chucked the purple ball at the Carracosta and what N called out next threw me off.

"Don't let it hit you," N said, sounding almost bored.

The Carracosta lifted one of its giant flippers and just as the Shadow Ball was about to hit, it smacked away the attack, the ball successfully diverted as it flew into the wall and dissipated.

I blinked a few times. Impossible. It could just brush off an attack like that?

"Waterfall again," N said calmly.

I cringed as the torrent of water again doused Chandelure, and I had feeling it was over. As the water stopped and I was again able to see Chandelure I realized I was right. All four of its flames on its arms were completely out and the large flame coming from its center was greatly dimmed. I shuddered, thanking the gods that the large flame hadn't gone out all the way. I couldn't deal with losing a Pokémon right now.

"Return," I called, recalling the fainted ghost type before sending out my next. And I knew who was perfect for the job.

"Klinklang!"

With a loud screech Klinklang was out before me. He spun his gears rapidly before locking them into place with a loud snap.

"Good choice," N said, giving me a nod.

"Crunch!" N yelled.

My eyes widened. I was surprised N had his Carracosta know a move that required speed to get it to hit. Carracostas weren't exactly the fastest of creatures.

The water type quickly began moving towards Klinklang, its large feet slamming on the ground with each step. However I had called it completely. It wasn't fast at all.

"Autotomize!" I called. Surely that would make it so I would again have a huge advantage.

Klinklang let out a deafening screech. It sounded like metal scraping against metal as he spun around and shook himself, sheets of steel flying off of him. And as he stopped, now looking much more svelte, I grinned. Oh yes, he would be quite speedy now.

"Dodge and use Thunderbolt!" I called.

It was almost too easy for Klinklang to avoid Carracosta's trap like jaws, the turtle ending up biting nothing but air.

With split second timing Klinklang fired off his electric attack, and before the sea turtle Pokémon even had time to turn around he had been struck with the lightning. He groaned as the electricity surrounded him and I half expected that to be all it took, but I was wrong. This Carracosta was going to put up a fight.

"Stone Edge!" N called.

"Dodge and use Thunderbolt again!"

A crowd of jagged stones suddenly appeared in the air, and with a flick of the Carracosta's flipper they went flying straight at Klinklang. For a moment my faith in my Autotomize attack faltered. Those stones were moving awfully fast. But my faith was restored as Klinklang zoomed upwards and successfully avoided the attack, sending a shower of electricity down on the turtle all the while.

"Keep doing what you're doing!" I called, craning my neck to look up at Klinklang as he struggled to keep his electric attack going. However he didn't need to keep it up for long as the large water type groaned out one last time, and then toppled over and crashed to the ground.

"Yes," I hissed to myself. N only now had two Pokémon left. I had four. I had the distinct advantage.

As the beam of red light sucked Carracosta back inside his ball I was more pumped than ever. I was on a winning streak and I wanted to keep it up. Klinklang floated down in front of me, panting. That last Thunderbolt attack had taken a lot out of him. I had never seen him pull off an attack for that long.

"Good job," I whispered as N threw up his second to last pokeball.

N's Archeops appeared and I nodded. I had figured he'd save Zoroark for last. However that wouldn't exactly be taking advantage of his transformation ability. I shook my head.

"Alright Klinklang, Thunderbolt again!"

"Acrobatics then Stone Edge!" N called.

The Archeops flew out of the way of the electric attack at a speed I had not before seen. My head whipped around as I tried to locate the Archeops but I had no success. It was as if the bird had just disappeared.

"Now!" N called.

Without any further warning the jagged rocks that looked quite similar to Carracosta's attack flew from seemingly out of nowhere and into Klinklang. I whirled around to look at where the rocks had come from, finally able to see the Archeops, but as I heard a faint clang from my right I realized it didn't matter if I could see the flying type or not. Klinklang was out cold.

I sighed; he had been exhausted. I returned my steel type and whispered to him what a great job he had done. I gently placed his ball back in my bag, next to Chandelure's and Zekrom's before rummaging around and deciding on my next Pokémon.

"Sigilyph, let's go!"

If it was speed I needed to be able to fight this Archeops, then I couldn't think of any better choice than Sigilyph.

Sigilyph appeared and with a happy noise shook his wings, fluffing them out slightly, readying himself for battle.

"You're gonna need to be fast," I said, my eyes still glued to the Archeops. Sigilyph glanced back at me and nodded.

"Okay, Fly!"

Sigilyph was once again a blur as he flew straight up so he was on the Archeop's level.

"Acrobatics then Stone Edge," N called once again.

Once again the Archeops zoomed out of the way so fast I almost couldn't see it.

"Keep up with it! Don't let it out of your sight!" I called.

Sigilyph chirped out his understanding before zooming after the Archeops. He kept up with the bird's speed well. I grinned.

"Now!" N called.

"F-Flash Canon!" I stuttered, my heart in my throat.

Sigilyph and Archeops were now flying at an incredible speed, parallel to each other, and as they fired off the two attacks I had no idea which one, if any, would hit. There was a loud screeching sound before a boom and once again a moderately sized explosion. Both Sigilyph and Archeops came tumbling out of the smoke cloud but caught their balance and regained flight before they hit the ground.

"Good, Flash Canon again!"

The swirling white and grey light was in front of Sigilyph almost immediately and with a flick of his wing the steel type attack flew at the bird and hit right on the mark.

"Perfect," I said to myself. No one could match Sigilyph when it came to speed.

"Not so fast," N chided, shaking his head. My gaze snapped back to where the Archeops had been to see that it wasn't there anymore. How could it have gotten a head start after being hit with an attack?

"Stone Edge!"

Once again the rocks came out of seemingly nowhere. I just couldn't get a visual on the Archeops.

Sigilyph screeched out in pain as the sharp stones slammed into it. My eyes swept over the entire room, still no sight of the flying type. Where was it?

I looked back to Sigilyph to see he was breathing heavily. A rock type attack would be super effective on him after all.

"Use Psychic on the entire room!" I called.

The pink swirling light slowly engulfed the entire area and I waited for the moment I would be able to see N's Pokémon. That was when I would strike. But once again N threw me off guard.

"Crunch!"

Archeops appeared then, directly above Sigilyph and I, and flew downward, one eye squinted as he worked through the Psychic attack.

"Dodge!" I called but before Sigilyph had time to react the Archeops had successfully landed the attack on my psychic type, his teeth sinking into Sigilyph's right wing.

With a cry from Sigilyph the Archeops let go and my Pokémon flapped its wings desperately, trying to stay in the air. But in the end it was no use and he, just like Klinklang before him, went crashing to the ground at the Archeops' hand.

I blinked. How crazy powerful was this bird if it could take out two of my Pokémon so easily?

"R-return," I said, calling Sigilyph back to his ball. I placed the Ultra ball back in my bag next to my other fainted Pokémon before I contemplated what Pokémon to use next. I needed one that would not only have a move that would be super effective, but one that could actually land a move. I sighed and picked up another Ultra Ball.

"Excadrill, go!"

Excadrill was a steel type after all. He wasn't the fastest on the planet but I had a plan, and I hoped to Arceus it would work.

N made a face as my small drilling Pokémon made his appearance, flexing his claws as he readied himself for battle. I could tell N was once again thrown off by my choice.

"Excadrill, Dig!"

With a swift movement Excadrill had burrowed himself underground, leaving a perfectly circular hole in his wake.

"What? That won't work White," N said, looking quite confused.

I shook my head. I had spent more time with Excadrill than I had any of my other Pokémon, rather than Talace that is. Excadrill wasn't my strongest, or even my second strongest, but he had an interesting battle strategy, and an interesting moveset. I knew a ground type move wouldn't do anything on a flying type, but I wasn't wanting to do damage right now, I was wanting to catch the Archeops off guard.

"Now!" I called.

N's Archeops was a good twenty feet in the air, flapping its wings steadily to keep flight, not seemingly worried about dodging a ground type move. But I knew better.

A moment later Excadrill came bursting out of the ground, flying into the air at just the right trajectory. I had worked long and hard at finding a way to get an attack to hit on a flying type with Excadrill. And when I had realized if he burrowed fast enough that when he appeared out of the ground he could actually launch himself into the air, I had been ecstatic.

"Metal Claw, now!"

The Archeops seemed almost stunned still as Excadrill made it to his level, claws glowing before successfully digging them into the Archeops' sides. The bird cried out in pain as Excadrill's attack faded and he came falling back to earth. My mole Pokémon landed perfectly, barely even making a sound.

"Great Job, use Dig again!"

In a split second Excadrill had disappeared once again. I glanced up to see the Archeops was weakly flapping its way back down to the ground, unable to stay in flight after an attack like that. Perfect.

"Now! Metal Claw again!"

It almost looked identical to the first time Excadrill had flown out of the ground as he was propelled into the air. The only difference was that that Archeops was on the ground. It didn't phase Excadrill much however as his claws once again glowed and he came hurtling back down towards the ground, right above Archeops.

"Dodge!" N called, his voice strangled.

The Archeops however just wasn't fast enough on the ground and my attack hit right on the mark. Excadrill, with a graceful summersault landed right next to the Archeops and quickly made his way back to me.

"Great job," I again whispered, looking over to where N was recalling his Pokémon. I hadn't realized it had fainted, but apparently it had. I sighed. Only one left. But this wasn't a time to get cocky; N's last would no doubtedly be the hardest.

"Zoroark! Come out my friend!" N yelled, throwing his last pokeball up into the air.

Before Zoroark had even materialized all the way, N was calling out an attack.

"Flamethrower!"

"Crap," I whispered to myself. "Try and doge it!"

I had a feeling however that Excadrill wouldn't be able to, and I was right. The blast of scorching hot flames hit Excadrill head on, some of the fire going past him and singing one of my shoelaces. I jumped slightly, stomping my foot on the ground until the fire was out. I looked back to Excadrill and my eyes widened. He was on the floor, fainted. It had only taken one hit. I gulped. Zoroark was going to be one tough opponent.

I sighed as I returned Excadrill, trying to hold back my emotions. I hadn't expected to feel sad or even a bit hesitant when battling Zoroark, but all I could see was the tiny Zorua who was always so happy to see me when I would come back from Kanto or Johto. He was N's ultimate partner, and I could tell that this battle was already killing N. What would happen if _this_ Pokémon got hurt? I took a deep breath. I was down to my last. As was N. This was going to be the last chance I had to prove I was right. This was the difference between being able to travel further and train with new Pokémon, or having all of them taken away, including the ones I held dearest.

I was glad as the anger again boiled to the surface. This battle had taken an immense toll on me. I didn't want to battle N. I cared about him, and I knew no matter who won or who lost we would both be hurt because of this battle.

I shook my head and snapped Talace's ball out of the necklace, enlarging it in my palm and sighing. I gritted my teeth, mustering up the last ounce of courage I had to call out my final Pokémon.

"Come on out Talace!" A bright flash of light appeared and out of the small pokeball came a gigantic creature, my Emboar.

N smiled, "Ah, I had a feeling you would save him for last, White."

I glared at him and his cocky smile, but once again I felt that familiar pang in my heart when I looked at his face, the face of the man I loved. Well one of the men anyway, the other was in Hoenn tapping his foot impatiently, clutching the X-transceiver I had given him. Next to him sat Ash and May, looking calm and polishing their pokeballs, while Max sat on the other side of Brock looking just as tense.

"You should really calm down Brock, you're going to give yourself an ulcer," chirped May with a bit of concern.

"I just need to know how things turn out," he replied, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

Of course he was referring to me, and my battle with N. I was beginning to think that he was more stressed about the battle than I was, but I guess that's just Brock, the worry wart.

I looked across the battle field at N's Zoroark, his strongest, against my strongest. Other than Zekrom and Reshiram that is.

I sighed and Talace looked back at me questioningly. Why hadn't I told him what to do yet?

My eyes rested on Talace and he huffed some smoke out his nose, letting me know he was ready to go. I smiled; it seemed like just yesterday that I had received him as a Tepig, so tiny, so inexperienced, just like myself. I closed my eyes, slowly reminiscing. My journey, all I had been through ultimately had led up to this moment. And I wasn't going to let it pass me by.

"Talace Flamethrower!"

"You too Zoroark!"

The flames collided in the air and neither of us gained any ground. I grinned; this would be a good battle through and through.

The battle between Talace and Zoroark was the longest and most grueling battle I had ever been a part of. They both seemed to be even, firing powerful attack after powerful attack and standing up easily after getting hit with each one. It was almost beautiful the way N and I battled, calling out command after command in a flurry of words.

"Night Slash!"

"Heat Crash!"

"Focus Blast!"

"Head Smash!"

It had been over forty five minutes before I had a feeling that our battle would soon be over, both Pokémon heaving.

"We can do this Talace," I whispered to my Emboar who was now standing directly in front of me, his entire body shaking with each breath he took. He looked over his shoulder at me and nodded. I knew he was just as determined to win as I was.

"Alright! Heat Crash!"

Talace let out a roar as he threw his arms up in the air, creating a large chunk of flaming rock before throwing it at Zoroark.

"Dodge!" N called.

I sighed. Zoroark had managed to dodge almost all of our attacks. I had no doubt that that was the only reason the dark type was still standing. I didn't expect this attack to be any different, but as Zoroark stumbled to move out of the way and tripped slightly, my heart started to race. Talace's attack hit right on the mark, throwing Zoroark backwards.

"A-arm Thrust!" I called, excitement coursing through me. If I could just land one last attack, it would be over.

Talace lumbered toward Zoroark, trying his best to make himself speedy but not succeeding much in his tired state. I closed my eyes, not wanting to watch the attack for a few reasons. For one, I was worried the attack wouldn't hit, and if it didn't there was a very good chance that I would lose; I had closed my eyes because I couldn't handle the anticipation. I also didn't want to watch because I knew that if it _did_ hit it would be the final blow in knocking out N's Pokémon, the Pokémon I had grown to love almost as one of my own.

I heard Talace roar once again before a thud echoed around me and I peered through my eyelashes.

"Zoroark return," N said, almost inaudibly.

I took in a shaky breath as the fainted Zoroark was called back to his ball and Talace turned around to look at me. I had done it. I had actually won. All this Team Plasma nonsense was finally over.

"Great job," I whispered to Talace, tears in my eyes.

He snorted out a ball of smoke and nodded to me, looking like he could burst with pride. I smiled and held up his ball, pulling him back to safety before snapping it back into the necklace.

I looked to N who was now staring at the ground, his eyes wide and his hands shaking.

"With this, my ideal… Pokémon's dreams…has crumbled."

My heart sank. I knew what this all truly meant to N now. His entire life he had come to believe what he was doing was right. And now with this, his world had been shattered.

"Reshiram and I have been defeated." N looked up at me with a hint of fear in his expression as he walked closer to me, "Your thoughts… your truth… is that what has bested me?"

N continued his slow trek across the room, steadily getting nearer and nearer.

"Zekrom and Reshiram. Those two chose heroes upon varying qualities. Two heroes in the same era. One seeking truth, and the other seeking ideals, coexisting, is that correct?"

I didn't realize he was truly asking me for a moment, but when I did I nodded. Indeed both now and back when Unova was founded the two heroes were alive at the same time, battling ultimately towards the same thing: peace. But they had two different ways of getting to that ultimate goal, just as N and I did.

"I would not _deny _differing ideas," N said, now only about twenty feet away, "In fact, in accepting differing ideas, the world will experience a chemical reaction. This…. is the formula that can change the world."

At first I thought I was able to follow what N was saying. I had to agree with him that when people accept someone else's differing opinions or ideas that it is better for us all, for there isn't truly a right and wrong. The world isn't solely black and white; there are vast areas of grey.

But when he began speaking about changing the world, I had officially lost him. N was possibly just a child emotionally, but mentally, he had the mind of a scholar.

N stopped, only a few feet away and paused, seemingly waiting for me to answer him. I tilted my head to the side, a look of almost pity on my face. I just felt so bad for the boy standing in front of me. And I couldn't deny that some of his sadness _was_ caused by things I had done. I opened my mouth to express my feelings but before I could a voice interrupted me.

"What a _worthless_ son."

My entire body tensed as the voice of truly the last person I wanted to talk to right then hit my ears. I spun around and glared at Ghetsis as he stalked into the room, a look of utter rage on his face.

"From the very beginning, N's revival of the ideal-seeking Pokémon in our time…" he trailed off as he reached us, his visible hand clenched into a fist, "It was all for the glory of MY Team Plasma! To manipulate the fearful populace!"

My head whipped to N. Ghetsis before had said that N had no idea of what was truly going on behind the scenes of Team Plasma, and now he was being told quite bluntly of all he had missed. N's expression turned to one of shock, exactly what I had expected. How much stress and surprises could N take today without having a heart attack?

Ghetsis was shaking now, I assumed out of rage as he approached his son. I paused for a moment. No, N wasn't truly Ghetsis' son, and I had still not completely comprehended it.

"You did well to come this far," Ghetsis spat, advancing so he was now only about a foot away from N, talking to him like I wasn't even in the room. "But you wanted to fight a fellow belief-driven trainer who could also subdue a legendary Pokémon to see if you were a true hero."

Silence filled the air as N looked at the ground, looking like a child who was being punished.

"What a FOOL!" Ghetsis roared, "You ruined everything! In the end you were beaten by a petty commoner!" he said, gesturing backwards to me.

"Hey," I squeaked, a bit offended by his comment. I wasn't some random person, I had gained Zekrom's trust, that was something to be proud of, a major accomplishment.

Ghetsis paid no attention to my small protest.

"It seems being raised with Pokémon only made you a wretched and imperfect human in the end," he hissed.

N still made no attempt at moving or defending himself.

"N," I said, taking a step forward. I had the odd urge to protect this boy; N didn't deserve any of the things Ghetsis was saying about him. I had only found out about N's past just over two hours ago but I already felt like my heart would break for him. I honestly didn't even know half of N's story, but from what I had heard I knew that N was definitely no ordinary person. He had been raised by Pokémon and then taken in by Ghetsis at a young age because he could speak the Pokémon's language. Ghetsis saw an opportunity to persuade the public to release their Pokémon if N could convince them that that was what the Pokémon wanted. Ghetsis had only shown N abused and injured Pokémon for most of his life so that the Pokémon he was around truly _did_ want to be free of humans.

N had been manipulated his entire life, and now that he had lost, Ghetsis had finally decided to throw away N, and continue on with his plan of taking all Pokémon and using them to rule the region by himself.

"You," Ghetsis hissed, turning around and acknowledging me finally.

My entire body stiffened as the man's one red eye bore into me.

"You are now much more trouble then you're worth," he spat.

I eyed him carefully. He was in such a rage that I didn't for a moment doubt that he would lash out and hit either N or I. And I wanted to be ready to dodge if he aimed something at me.

"The dragon _chose_ you after all." Ghetsis' visible eye rolled in disgust and then snapped back to me. "Yet nothing will impede me toward my goal! I will not falter! I will rule the world with an iron fist!"

I backed up a few paces, the insanity in Ghetsis' expression slightly scaring me. I looked to N quickly who was still staring at the ground, looking shocked. I wanted to talk to him, to help explain some things to him, and yet Ghetsis and his yelling was delaying my chance to speak with N. Not even for a moment did I ever think Ghetsis posed an actual threat now. I had beaten N and Reshiram, and therefore Team Plasma was defeated, however Ghetsis had a different idea.

Ghetsis' gaze was on me once again. He slowly stalked forward until he was only a few feet away and leaned down until he was on my level.

"Your precious _N _has served as the king of Team Plasma. But you now know the truth of why that is, and who the _true King is_."

I flinched, once again reminded of the short conversation Ghetsis and I had had in N's room before I came here to battle him. Ghetsis was truly the King of Team Plasma, not N.

"And now that you d_o_ know the truth," Ghetsis continued, steadily leaning forward until he was far closer than I ever wanted him to be, "You are getting in my way, I WILL ELIMINATE YOU!"

My eyes squeezed shut as he bellowed in my face. What was he talking about? I had beaten N; therefore the leader of Team Plasma was defeated. I paused, my eyes slowly blinking open. But if N wasn't really the leader, Team Plasma wouldn't be disbanded until I beat whoever was, and that person was Ghetsis.

I took in a deep breath. I wasn't sure if I could handle another battle. My Pokémon were quite worn out, if not knocked out. There was no way I could handle another battle.

"Rule the world with an iron fist?"

The voice came from my left and I swore I could've cried out with joy. Cheren.

"I thought Team Plasma's goal was to liberate Pokémon."

I thanked the gods when Ghetsis backed away and took a few steps toward the doorway I had first come through which was now holding residence to both Cheren and Alder.

Alder gave me a small wink and I smiled. He realized I had beaten N.

"That was a lie told to help in the construction of Team Plasma," Ghetsis said, walking closer to Alder and Cheren, starting to pace back and forth.

As the green haired man took a deep breath I realized he was getting ready for yet another speech, no doubt informing of Cheren and Alder of all they missed. My eyes snapped to N and I took this as my chance.

I quickly and quietly dashed over to N, careful not to disturb Ghetsis in his rant. When I made it to N I slowed, stopping only about a foot away from him. He didn't look up. His eyes were wide, flicking back and forth as if he still didn't comprehend what Ghetsis had told him, or at least he didn't want to.

"N," I said softly, hoping to gain his attention. No response.

I slipped my hands around his face and lifted his chin up until he was looking at me.

"N, are you alright?" I asked.

His eyes met with mine, panic still held in the grey green orbs. I sighed.

"I'm so sorry N."

I wasn't sure why I had apologized. I wasn't sorry for battling him, or for winning. I guess I was just sorry that he had to go through all he was going through. I felt my hands move as he nodded, seemingly understanding what I had said.

"I was wrong White."

My eyes widened, he had actually spoken, maybe we could have an intelligent conversation.

I nodded, "I know N, that's what I was trying to tell you," I said, smiling slightly, trying to put a joking tone in my voice.

N blinked a few times, seemingly confused as to why I was smiling.

I sighed, "N, you didn't answer my question. Are you okay?"

N finally closed his eyes after I spit out my question, squinting them together tightly.

"I don't know," he answered.

I nodded. If I were in N's shoes I don't think I would exactly know what to think either. I pulled my hands back down to my sides.

"I can help you through all of this N," I promised.

His eyes opened and his mouth twitched, wanting to say something, but once again the booming voice from behind me interrupted our conversation.

"Now then White. That which is considered a god has recognized you." Ghetsis let out one loud laugh, scoffing at Zekrom's authority.

I felt something stir in my bag. I quickly peered inside, noticing that Zekrom's ball was wiggling. He had fainted, how could he be strong enough to move his ball?

"How-"

"You need not worry about your Pokémon's health, White. This castle was built with that in mind, it heals Pokémon." N cut me off. I peered over my shoulder at him and saw he had a faint smile on his face. Maybe what I'd said had actually sunken in. Maybe N had faith that I could help him through this since Ghetsis had kicked him out of Team Plasma. I could help N transition into the real world, maybe it would even be fun.

I shook my head, still trying to comprehend everything. The past few hours had been not only a mess but a blur.

Ghetsis continued. "I want to see that glorious flash of despair on your face when I beat you to a pulp," Ghetsis sneered, pulling a pokeball out from his robes.

I gulped, fumbling around in my bag until I had Klinklang's pokeball. I hadn't expected another battle, but now I was getting one, one with the true leader and King of Team Plasma. This battle would mean just as much as the one with N had.

"I cannot be stopped!" Ghetsis roared.

I grinned and threw the ball up into the air.

"Not if I have anything to say about it!"

* * *

**So there it is! I hope you liked it, the final battle! I wanted to end this chapter with that because I'm too much of a lazy butt to write the battle between White and Ghetsis. Tee hee.**

** Ack, we're getting so close to the end of the story! Next chapter is the last! I want to thank all of you who read this entire chapter so so much! I really want to be able to give you something... but I have no idea what! D:**

**Haha, anyway, thank you so so much for any reviews you send my way, they always make my day a sunny one! Haha!**

**Have a great week! And don't go blind because of all the reading, XD.**


	61. The End of the Beginning

**Chapter 61, the last chapter, here we go! I'm getting all sentimental, finishing my first story. Gah. I'm not really sure what I think of this chapter. The first part goes a little weird because of all the text from the game but I think it gets better as it goes. Tee hee. **

**Oh and I forgot to mention last chapter! Did you notice the little clump of text near the end of White and N's battle? Did you notice it was the same little clump that I started this story with? Eh? I was super excited about that for some reason, lol!**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

_**Chapter 61: The End of the Beginning**_

"No, this can't be!"

I couldn't help but let a smile twitch onto my face as Ghetsis watched his final Pokémon go crashing to the ground. It had been a long battle, almost as lengthy as the one between N and myself, but I had to admit it wasn't really even difficult.

Ghetsis had managed to knock out Klinklang and Excadrill, but after I brought out Zekrom, the dragon had obliterated every opponent it faced.

"My scheme!" Ghetsis cried, "My perfect scheme to dominate the world!"

I sighed and returned Zekrom without a word, silently sending the dragon praise for a battle well fought.

Ghetsis hastily returned his fainted Hydreigon and stuffed the pokeball back into his robes. He looked up, his eyes wild and insane as he glared at N and I.

"I am the creator of Team Plasma," Ghetsis hissed as he began shakily moving toward us.

I had fought the battle without really moving, N staying a few feet behind me the entire time, not moving a muscle. A few times I had glanced back at him, wondering if he was routing for me or for Ghetsis. But N's expression hadn't given anything in the slightest away.

"I am the pinnacle of mankind!"

I would've laughed in that moment at the absurdity of Ghetsis' statement, but the insanity scrawled on the man's face scared me. I was afraid if I laughed he would sic one of his Pokémon on _me_ instead.

"Should the world not change to place me in total control?" Ghetsis bellowed, finally reaching us.

I blinked a few times, not sure how to react. I looked past Ghetsis to Alder and shot him a confused glance. What should I be doing? Alder shrugged, looking like he was almost enjoying Ghetsis' small mental breakdown.

My gaze shot back to Ghetsis as a slow and maniacal laugh escaped his throat. I had to almost crane my neck to see the large man's face, now covered in laughter.

His laughing ceased a moment later and I had to shake my head and ask myself if this was a dream. Not only was Ghetsis acting like a mad man, but quite bipolar as well. Maybe he truly was clinically insane.

"I obtained the legendary Pokémon without even having to be the hero!" Ghetsis bellowed, still taken with small chuckles between a few of his words.

My anger was back with that statement. Reshiram was at N's command only, how could Ghetsis believe that it was ever his, or even Team Plasma's. Reshiram belonged to the hero, not anyone else.

"That's all I ever needed you for, N! Nothing else."

I peered over at N, my hands clenching into fists. I had to keep my anger under control. All that mattered was making sure N was alright. I once again contemplated my strong urge to protect N. It was odd.

"Look at yourself!" Ghetsis said, making a gesture toward N, "You're a heartless inhuman monster! Is it even worth talking with an aberration like you?"

I had known that Ghetsis looked down upon N for being able to talk to Pokémon. It was clear in the way he addressed N that he thought no regular human would be able to do such a thing. And in Ghetsis' mind, now that N was no longer useful, he was just a freak.

The anger inside of me boiled even hotter, and before I knew it, it had bubbled out onto the surface.

The rage I felt toward Ghetsis was the most scorching anger I had ever felt, and before I could think of the consequences, my hand had risen up and roughly slapped the sage in front of me.

As the smack echoed out in the room everyone froze. I halted in shock. I was not a violent person; I had never hit another human in my life, let alone someone who could probably snap me in half without even trying.

I looked to Alder and Cheren in panic and realized they looked just about as shocked as I felt. Cheren's jaw could've hit the ground and I could tell Alder was trying to hold back a laugh. I flinched as I saw Ghetsis move out of the corner of my eye, his hand reaching up to touch his cheek. He looked pretty surprised as well.

"H-how dare you hit me!"

I knew I was in for it and slightly cowered. I would be no match for a six foot tall beast of a man in a fist fight.

"You've crossed a major line! I should punish you!"

I flinched again, waiting for the impact but when I felt none, I peered out through my eyelashes. Ghetsis had made no move toward me, no move toward anyone. Was he really that much bark, and no bite?

"Listening to this guy is starting to get annoying." I heard Cheren's voice cut the awkward silence. "We all know that he's the one who should be punished."

I heard Alder's booming laugh once again, "You're right kiddo. He's hopeless."

Ghetsis finally moved as his head whipped back to glare at Alder and Cheren who were finally making their way out of the doorway and into the room.

"Well, it looks like we finally have our answer," Alder said, grabbing Ghetsis' arm and yanking it behind his back. "The two heroes, one won and conquered this team. I guess we know who was right after all."

I hesitantly looked to N, fearful of taking my eyes off of Ghetsis as he struggled against Alder's seemingly iron grasp.

"No, I am no hero," N said solemnly.

"Is that so?" Alder asked, looking a bit taken by surprise by N's answer, "You have the legendary Pokémon, what do you plan on doing now?"

N looked surprised at Alder's casual tone.

"Y-you're not going to take me as well?"

Alder shook his head, "No N, I think you deserve as much time free as you want. As far as I'm concerned you weren't really even a part of the criminal side of Team Plasma."

My heart soared. Ghetsis would be taken prisoner, N would be set free! Everything would be right in the world! N would finally get a life to live.

"Well? What do you plan on doing now?" Alder asked, repeating his question to N.

"I'll try to understand," N answered in nearly an inaudible voice, "We've been arguing over our own beliefs until now… but… why?"

"N," Alder started, speaking up before I had the chance, "Even if we can't understand each other, there is no reason to reject others ideas! You and White both had differing opinions and yet in some respects I believe you both were right."

Both N and I looked to each other and then back to Alder.

"Humans don't quarrel for the sole purpose of determining who is right, remember that."

With that Alder gave a nod to Cheren and they both dragged a struggling Ghetsis out of the room. N and I were left in silence once they had exited the room.

Alder's words sunk in rather slowly. He was a loud and outgoing man, but he did have some very wise things to say. Even if I hadn't exactly fully comprehended the last part. I assumed it was something I'd understand after time.

I sighed. Everything was over now. Team Plasma was disbanded, and in beating N, I had technically beaten the Champion. Therefore I would most likely be given the choice of accepting the championship of the Unova region. My dream, it had come true. Now all I needed to do was help N.

I turned to him and sighed again. It was all over for him as well. But not exactly in a good way.

"There's something I want to talk with you about," N said, looking at me almost in a confused manner.

I nodded, taking a deep breath and steadying myself for whatever N would say next.

"When we first met in Accumula town," N started, cutting himself off and looking at me expectantly.

I nodded, letting him know that I remembered. It had been nearly a year and half ago that I had been stopped by the green haired stranger who gave me back my dropped Pokedex and challenged me to a Pokémon battle. He had mentioned something strange about being able to talk with Pokémon, I had dismissed it, but it turns out that the strange boy had been telling the truth.

"I heard the voices of your Pokémon then, and they shocked me; and in Icirrus City as well."

I had to wrack my brain a bit to remember what N was talking about with that one, but it didn't take me too long. After I had won my badge at the ice type gym N had asked to see my Pokémon, and had listened to them speak through their balls before telling me that he wanted to meet me in Dragonspiral Tower; the place where I would find out that I was to be the other hero.

"Why do these Pokémon," N trailed off, motioning to my bag and then to Talace's necklace, "Why do they claim to be fond of you? They said they wanted to be with you. I couldn't comprehend…" N trailed off again, his voice almost catching in his throat.

I advanced a few steps forward, wanting to comfort him. It was obvious that he had never met any Pokémon in his lifetime that actually wanted to be with humans, and so mine had thrown him way off.

"I couldn't comprehend that there were Pokémon in this world who liked people," he finished.

I nodded. I had been right on target.

"I had no knowledge of Pokémon like that until that moment in Accumula Town. And from then on, as my journey continued, my feelings swayed."

I nodded with a slight smile, truly interested in all N had to say. I could tell what he was confessing now was something very personal.

"Pokémon and people were all selflessly joining their hearts to help each other. So I wanted to fight you, to ascertain my belief. I wanted to face you as a fellow hero to prove I was right. But I was wrong…" he said, his face looking pained once again, "I should never have opposed you, or your beliefs when you were surrounded by Pokémon who love you."

I smiled. I could almost feel the warmth of my Pokémon friends around me. We truly were close.

N sighed, shaking his head, again closing off his most personal feelings, a few of which he had just shared with me.

"The Champion has forgiven me, but my life is now in my own hands."

I nodded with a smile. Indeed it was, and surely N would turn to me for help.

"Reshiram!" N called and with a bright flash of white the dragon was out of his ball, steadily lumbering toward the hole in the wall it had created when it first had arrived.

N turned toward Reshiram and I swore my heart broke. Where was he going? He should be walking toward me, not turning away.

"White!" he called, looking back over his shoulder.

My heart raced. Maybe he wasn't leaving after all, or maybe he was, but he was only going to another location in Unova. But somehow I think deep down I knew exactly what he was doing. He was going on a different kind of journey on his own.

"You said you had a dream," he said, a faint smile playing on his features, "That dream… must be realized! Your wonderful dreams, your ideals… have the power to change the world! White! You can do it!"

"No," I whispered to myself as he turned back toward Reshiram and began walking. He couldn't leave, not now. I knew he wanted to go somewhere new, and experience all he could in other regions to see if I _was _truly right. He still had his doubts about my ideas and I knew that in his mind the only way he could find out for sure was through observation. Observation by himself, without me, maybe even without his Pokémon. He wanted to be rid of this region for a while, and while I couldn't blame him, I still didn't want him to leave.

"No N! Don't go!"

Before I knew it my feet were carrying me toward him and I had smashed into his back, plastering myself to him, my arms linking around his chest in a death grip. After all he had realized, I wouldn't let him just walk out. He could do all his observing here in Unova, there was no need for him to leave.

"White please," he said, his voice strangled, "Don't make this any harder. It's what I have to do. I'll be back someday."

His last words sparked a flicker of hope from me.

He gently pried my hands from him and turned around, bending down a bit.

"I'll be gone for a while," he said, his voice cracking slightly.

This was all too surreal. It was almost like some sappy romance movie where in the end the two lovers were torn apart. There was no happy ending for them, and I realized there most likely wouldn't be for us either. N said he would be back, but something told me it would be years before that would happen.

"You said you wanted to be Champion. Do it, White. Move on to the life you want."

I swallowed. It was true, I did want to be Champion. But I wanted to be Champion with N still in Unova, still there to watch me fulfill my dream that he so wanted me to.

I opened my mouth, ready to barrage him with questions and protests but quickly closed it. I was being selfish. N needed to do this for himself; I shouldn't be holding him back.

I had a small internal battle in that moment, my own desires pushing against N's before I finally gave in to what I knew was now inevitable.

I nodded, letting N know I understood.

N's mouth twitched into a slight smile. He stood back up and looked down at me with the saddest expression I had ever seen on a human face. I could tell it was hard for him as well.

"Here," he said, quickly reaching behind his neck and unclasping the necklace he always wore. He took it and gently draped it around my neck this time.

"I love you White," he whispered almost inaudibly as he quickly turned and jogged over to Reshiram, grabbing onto the white dragon and quickly lifting himself onto its back.

"Well then," N said as Reshiram began flapping its large wings, creating wind that whipped at my face, "Farewell!"

With N's final goodbye Reshiram lifted itself off of the ground and shot through the hole in the wall, almost a blur as it flew up and into the sky.

I quickly jogged to stand at the edge of the room, looking out after N and Reshiram, squinting my eyes to watch them as they disappeared in the distance.

I took a deep breath and looked down at N's necklace, gently twirling the planet shaped trinket in my fingers.

"I love you too N," I whispered to myself, feeling my eyes well up with tears.

It was what was best, and I knew that, but it was still hard.

I blinked away the wetness in my eyes, condemning myself for my weakness. It was not like a Champion to show any sign of weakness. I smiled halfheartedly. I would be the Champion now.

"Hey White!"

I whirled around as Cheren and Bianca made their way into the room. Bianca nearly tackled me in a hug and Cheren shook his head at her antics.

"Alder just told me everything!" the blonde squealed, "You beat Team Plasma and now you're gonna be the Champion! I'm so proud of you White!"

I chuckled, "Thanks Bianca."

Cheren glanced around the room, "Where's N?"

I sighed, "He left to go travel the world or some crap like that," I said, trying to make it sound like it wasn't a big deal so I wouldn't break down and start crying again.

Cheren smiled and nodded.

"So what are you two going to do now?" I asked. Our journey was officially over. I had a future as the Champion, but I didn't know about them.

Cheren shrugged, "Not quite sure, but Alder offered me a chance to train with him some so I guess I'll be taking him up on that."

"And Professor Juniper said I could do some research with her if I wanted," Bianca squealed, obviously happy. "What about you, White? What are you going to do up until you are officially sworn in?"

I blinked, contemplating, "I'm not sure, but I think I have to go and deliver some news first," I said, smiling. My friends in Hoenn deserved to know the outcome.

Bianca and Cheren nodded and I gave them a wave before dashing out of the room and back into the castle's hallways. This was exactly what I needed. I needed to get away for a little while, even if it was only for a day. Surely meeting up with Brock and all them would take my mind off of N.

* * *

I found myself once again floating over Hoenn, squinting down at the forest, trying to find any sight of Brock, Ash, May, or Max. It had been only a few hours since I had taken off from Unova, Sigilyph was apparently still pretty pumped up from battle and he had flown at a record speed.

The time I spent on Sigilyph flying over to Hoenn gave me some quality time to think, and I had to admit I felt a lot better.

It had finally settled in that N was actually gone, and I wouldn't be able to see him again. And while that crushed some little part of me inside, I realized that I couldn't do anything about it. N didn't want to be here, and who was I to hold him back?

So with N gone, I realized that the decision I would've had to make between N and Brock had basically been made for me. N was out of the picture, and so that left me with a clear answer: Brock.

I grinned to myself as I saw their small campsite, just a speck on the landscape. Brock would be so happy. And I had to admit I'd be happy as well.

I patted Sigilyph and he began to move downward, the campsite becoming bigger every second.

"Oh hey look!"

I heard a shout and smiled. Max had apparently spotted me first. I was on the ground within the minute, all four of my traveling companions bounding up to me.

Once I was securely on the ground I called back Sigilyph and turned my attention to the humans standing in front of me, looking like they would burst with anticipation.

"So?" Brock asked, bouncing on his toes.

I smiled and turned to Max, "I guess you're gonna get to meet a Champion after all!"

"NO WAY! YOU DID IT?!" all four of them shouted in unison.

I nodded and the celebration ensued.

Max immediately grabbed Pikachu, dancing around with the small electric type until it decided it had had enough and shocked the boy. Ash quickly ran over to help the now fried Max up, while May scolded her little brother.

I chuckled as they continued their almost comical act.

"Bet you didn't miss that," I heard Brock's voice say from behind me. He had apparently avoided the commotion as well.

I smiled, "Yeah, actually I kinda did."

I turned back to him and grinned, quickly throwing myself at him and into a bone crushing hug. His arms quickly snaked around me as well and I sighed, taking in the feeling. But something caught me off guard. Whenever I had hugged Brock in the past it had felt perfect. The small butterflies flying around in my stomach, my heart beating faster, the feeling of complete comfort and contentment; but it was different this time. I didn't feel any of that. It didn't feel any different than when I hugged Ash or Cheren. It was completely platonic.

I pulled back with a jerk, surprise jolting through me. Brock gave me an odd look.

"White, you okay?"

My eyebrows knitted together as I stepped back a few feet. What was wrong? Why had it felt so different?

I looked back to Brock with a hint of confusion on my face.

I heard him sigh, "I had a feeling that would happen."

My eyes flew open, "What?"

Brock plopped down on a tree stump and put his head in his hands, "You chose N didn't you."

It wasn't really a question, more of an observation. Why would Brock have thought that?

"N-no… N left," I stuttered, still not able to completely understand.

"Yes, but in the end, you decided on him. No matter if he's here or not."

Again it was a statement. And suddenly I realized it was true. I had tried to cover up my heartbreak by pretending to move on. I had created an alternate plan that didn't include N, one with only me and Brock, but in the end I realized it wasn't what I truly wanted. Realization had hit me like a ton of bricks.

Throughout my journey I had been torn between N and Brock, unable to even lean one way or another. But I realized after I had learned of N's past, and all he had been through, and gotten a better look at who he was, I had subconsciously chosen. N was the one and only.

"I'm so sorry Brock," I said, my heart now breaking for him instead of me.

I felt better now that I had admitted it. I knew what I wanted, and now I would just have to find a way to get it. But it didn't cancel out exactly how guilty I felt for dragging Brock along for this long all for nothing.

Brock shook his head, looking up at me with a pained expression, "It's alright. I just want you to be happy."

Brock was a completely unselfish being; he truly just wanted the best for the ones he loved, even if it didn't involve him.

I nodded and walked forward to give him another hug, this one in gratitude.

"Thank you Brock," I whispered and I felt him nod.

That thank you had a double meaning however. I was very thankful that he was so forgiving. But what I was thanking him for even more was that he had helped me realize that N was my ultimate choice. I might have just denied it for months, moving onto something that wouldn't have made me happy. But Brock knew just by the way I had reacted that I had moved on, and that my heart had made the unconscious choice for me.

* * *

_**3 months later**_

I turned my X-transceiver over in my hand, swiveling back and forth nervously in my chair. I should really call Brock. But again that little voice yelled at me not to.

I let out an exasperated sigh and stood up, once again pacing around the room. I had nearly worn a hole in the carpet of the room I was in just in the past few days alone. I had moved into the Champion's living quarters almost three months ago, and I was getting restless.

It was only two weeks until I would be sworn in as the official Champion and in the meantime I was very fidgety. I had nothing to do.

I flopped onto the king sized bed, quickly punching in a few digits and staring at the screen as it rang. I was once again calling N. Though N wasn't the person I should have been calling.

Once again it went to his voicemail and I groaned, hitting the end button, deciding not to leave a message. I had left hundreds of them over the past few months, and he had never once picked up or called back. It was as if he had truly dropped off the face of the Earth.

I slid off of the bed and plopped back down in my desk chair, again swiveling back and forth.

I had been contemplating for a while now on calling Brock. I wanted to check up on him, see how he was doing after I had left. But I felt almost embarrassed to do so. It had been three months since I had talked to him; it would be an awkward conversation.

I sighed and again pounded in a few numbers into my X-transceiver. N's number again. One ring, two rings, three rings, and another voicemail.

I decided to leave yet another message.

"Hey N, I'm starting to think maybe you threw away your X-transceiver. I hope not, you know how dangerous that could be, you could get eaten by an Ursaring and no one would know. Listen, I just really want to talk to you. Please call back. Bye."

I clicked the end button and groaned. Not only was I bored out of my mind but the one person I wanted to talk to wasn't answering any of my calls.

I bit my lower lip. I should call Brock. I finally took one last deep breath and gained all the courage I had… and dialed Ash's number. Maybe I could ask him about Brock and get all the information I needed.

Ash's face popped onto the screen and I flinched. I hadn't seen or talked to any of them in the three months, not just Brock.

"Oh hi White! H-"

"Shhhh," I hissed. Surely Brock was nearby and I didn't want him overhearing this conversation.

Ash's eyes widened, "What? What's so secretive?"

I opened my mouth to explain but was cut off by another voice on the other end of the line.

"Did you just say White?"

"What? Pshh, no," Ash said, quickly trying to brush off what he had said earlier.

"Gimmie."

"Waa! No! Stop!"

The screen on the X-transceiver went wild. I saw grass, then sky, then a shocked looking Max, then a glimpse of Pikachu, before again seeing grass, and this time it stayed. I had assumed they had been fighting over the X-transceiver and it had eventually ended up on the ground.

I shook my head with a smile. I really did miss those two boys.

"White, it _is _you!"

Brock's voice pulled me out of my thoughts as I saw he had picked the X-transceiver up and was holding off Ash with one hand.

My finger twitched toward the end button. I was so nervous about talking to Brock again. The way I had left things I almost felt ashamed.

"Uh, yeah."

"Why're you calling?" Brock asked, a smile the size of Kanto scrawled on his face.

"Uh…" I stumbled, sounding like an idiot.

Brock rolled his eyes, "Give it to me straight White. Why'd you call?"

I sighed, "I wanted to know how you were doing?"

"And there it is," Brock said with a chuckle, "I'm doing fine."

I blinked a few times. I had expected a different answer. "Really?"

Brock smiled, "Yes, really."

"He's met another girl!" I heard May's voice pipe in in the background.

If my eyes weren't wide before they sure were now, "Really? Who?"

A blush encompassed Brock's face, "Remember that Vulpix I was taking care of?"

I nodded.

"Well, the girl that owned it, Suzie, and I sorta got to chatting at a breeding conference we were at about a month ago. We really hit it off and… we've kinda been together ever since!"

Brock looked like he could burst with pride and happiness. I smiled.

"So you're happy Brock?"

He nodded, "I really am happy White. You know that I'll always sort of have a special place in my heart for you, and if things don't work out with me and Suzie or you and N and you want to try it again I'll always be up for it."

I nodded. There was a ding in the background and Brock quickly looked to the side.

"Well that's lunch."

I smiled, "Alright Brock, talk to you later."

"Talk to you later White."

With that we both hung up and again I was left in complete silence. I gently set the X-transceiver down on my desk and leaned back in the chair. Well that was one end that was now all tied up. I didn't have to feel guilty about Brock anymore. He had found someone else, and I truly wished them both the best.

I glanced around my large bedroom. It was fit for a Champion. I had a three room setup, a bedroom, a kitchen, and a living room; all attached to the Elite Four's living quarters along with a house that Alder now resided in. It was perfect, everything I had ever dreamed of.

I frowned. Everyone was happy. Brock was happy, along with all of my traveling companions in Hoenn. Cheren and Bianca were happy. Alder weirdly enough seemed happy that the weight of the title of Champion had been lifted off of his shoulders. And my mother seemed more than happy that she could now brag about her daughter being a Champion.

Hell even the Unova region was happy. With Team Plasma disbanded at my hand they seemed thrilled. I was now considered a hero by everyone. I couldn't walk five feet on the street without someone recognizing me.

I smiled. And I was happy. I had wonderful family, wonderful friends, and my dream had come true.

I couldn't help but feel my heart sink however. Everything felt perfect, minus one major component. N.

I had no idea where he was, and I had no way of reaching him either. I sighed, knowing that I wouldn't truly feel at peace until he returned. And that was the fact I was hanging onto. He had said that one day he'd come back. But I had no idea when that day would be.

My hand slipped into the top desk drawer and I brushed my fingers across N's necklace he had left with me. It had almost seemed like my time with N had been a dream, but this one piece of jewelry reminded me that he was in fact real, and still out there somewhere. I reluctantly closed the drawer again and sighed, leaning back in my chair once again.

I heard a knock at my door and before I could say anything it opened to reveal Alder.

I gave him an odd look. Alder never stopped by unannounced.

"You have a visitor," Alder said with a grin.

I tilted my head to the side with a yawn, "Who?"

Alder shot a look to his left and then looked back to me, "It's actually probably not someone you're expecting."

I made a face.

"You know the head of the Unova police force?"

My eyes widened, "Yeah. Like… Booker or something?"

Alder let out another one of his signature booming laughs, "Close, Looker. Anyway, he said he wants to talk to you and he said it's important."

I frowned, "What's it about?"

Alder shrugged, "He won't tell anyone. He just says it has to do with Team Plasma."

That definitely got my attention. Ghetsis was now in jail, and with N gone Team Plasma had no figureheads and had seemed to just disintegrate without any leadership.

"Alright, where is he?" I asked.

"Right here actually," Alder answered as a tall man in a tan trench coat pushed past him and into my room.

"Hi White, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Looker."

The man held out his hand to me and I took it. He shook it roughly before looking around and gently sitting on the edge of my bed. He was a rather handsome man, probably in his forties and looked like he meant business.

It was quiet for a moment, me staring at Looker, Looker staring at me, and Alder hanging out in the doorway.

"So…" I started, wondering what on Earth was so important.

"You're the Unovian hero right?" Looker blurted.

I blinked, "Yeah."

He nodded to himself, "Well then White…"

There was another long pause and I found myself leaning forward, wanting to physically shake the rest of the sentence out of this man.

Looker cracked a grin, "If you have some free time, I really need your help."

* * *

**Ah! I'm such a sneaky person, sorta. When I was outlining the last part of this story I realized I had no freaking idea how to end it. And then I was like... 'Hey, there's a B/W 2 game... this could be interesting...' And then I rubbed my hands together and cackled like the weird person I am. Haha. **

**So there it is, the last chapter of this story! And yes, there is going to be a sequel. I'm sorry for being the sequel kind of person. XD It won't have any BrockxWhite stuff in it, so sorry to the literally three people who were routing for him. With the landslide for N votes I just had to have White end up with him. It will be following the end plot of the B/W games and the plot of the B/W 2 games. But it'll be a bit different since White will still be the main character. I am really excited about it actually.**

**I just want to thank all of you who read this so much! My first story, I never expected to even have two people read it honestly! You guys are amazing! I really hope you stay tuned for the sequel, it'll be loads of fun. But if you don't, I understand, and I want to thank you for reading thus far! **

**I will update this story one more time (not with a chapter) when the sequel is out. It will just be a quick author's note/summary of the next story. I'll type up some chapters in the next week or two and then I should put it up! Again, I hope you stay tuned for the last little blip before this story is considered complete!**

**Thank you all so so much again, you make my day so much brighter! :D 3  
**

**-Poke-lover88**


	62. The Driving Force

**Hello there and welcome to chapter- wait... this isn't a chapter? Haha! Nope, this is the notice that the sequel to 'A Force to Be Reckoned With' is up! You can go find it on my profile if you want! Huzzah! I took a couple of weeks to write out the first few chapters, and I finally posted it! Yay! I'm incredibly excited about it.  
**

**As you probably know from the last chapter there won't be any BrockxWhite stuff in it. Only Ferriswheelshipping from here on out. **

**I said I'd have a summary in this chapter, but being as I am ****_terrible_**** with summaries I decided to whip up a small part of sorts that will be in the next story as a bit of a summary/preview/I don't know what to call it so I just continue to ramble. XD**

* * *

That mark. I knew that mark. The shield with the blue P and black and white background was one emblem I would never mistake.

"P-plasma?" I whispered to myself.

I hadn't in a million years thought I would see that mark again. Maybe in books, or when someone created a documentary about Team Plasma in the future, but definitely not now, only a few months since all of the Sages of Team Plasma were jailed.

The man who was wearing the emblem froze, his eyes widening as he took in my appearance. He almost looked frightened.

"Who are you?" I asked in bewilderment.

The man's mouth opened, no words sounding before he closed it again.

"Are you a grunt?" I asked, taking a step toward the man.

He didn't look like a grunt. The blue and white uniforms I had gotten to used to seeing were usually the sign that someone was one of the workers for Team Plasma. But this man, this man wore all black. It looked like a polished uniform, one of someone who knew what they were doing. However this man didn't exactly seem like he felt comfortable stealing a Pokemon, and it was more than a little obvious he wasn't doing a good job with it either.

The Herdier at his feet barked once, sending a ferocious growl at the man before bounding over to me, its tongue flopping out of its mouth in glee. It halted once it reached me, plopping down by my feet and rubbing its head on my knee.

If I hadn't have been so stunned by the person in front of me I would've petted the dog Pokemon, and told it that everything was going to be alright. However it seemed to be taking being stolen better than I was.

The man still hadn't answered me and I found myself growing impatient, "Who are you?" I demanded.

The man took a deep breath, straightening the gloves on his hands before he finally spoke up, his voice shaky. "Yes, I am a Plasma grunt."

It felt like I had been slapped in the face. He was a grunt. A grunt for Team Plasma. The organization that didn't exist any longer.

The man let out an irritated sigh, "Did you not hear?"

"Hear what?" I squeaked.

"Ghetsis and the rest of the Sages 'escaped' from prison," the grunt said, using air quotes around the word 'escaped'.

I nodded, "Y-yeah, I heard about that."

It had been all over the news. I doubted anyone _hadn't_ heard. However Unova had been told not to worry, that the Sages were harmless now and that Team Plasma wouldn't ever cause any harm again.

But as I watched the grunt in front of me glare in my direction, the shining Plasma badge on his suit, I knew they had been wrong.

* * *

**So there's a bit of a preview... kinda. Anyway, before you go and check that story out, *wink wink nudge nudge* Haha! I just want to thank all of you again. **

**I want to thank everyone who read this story. Whether you read all of the chapters or only one, I want to thank you. This story was my first, and I never expected the response I got. So thank you so much.**

**And a few extra extra special shoutouts!**

**To Poke-ninja6600 and ChelseaSienaJosephineCassandra. Both of you have read from almost the beginning when I first posted this story. You have definitely been two of the biggest supporters and I just want to hug both of you if I could... so internet hug I guess? And I hope (even though Poke-ninja was routing for Brock) that you'll enjoy the sequel just as much!**

**To Sweettjrose, XWhiteChanX, Let Flygons Be Flygons, Greyrosereddragon, and starchaseremerald. You guys have been some who have followed this story for a while as well. Leaving me some amazing reviews and hopefully enjoying this story as well! You have definitely kept me going as well and I can't thank you enough!**

**To RoseMasterD87. You have been a humungous help to me. You've not only given me some amazing feedback, but helped me with picking out certain episodes to base chapters off of when dealing with Brock, Misty, Ash, May, Max, and all of those little suckers. An amazing help and (even though you were routing for Brock as well) hopefully you'll enjoy the next one. XD  
**

**And finally just a big thanks to those of you who have faved/followed/reviewed on this story. I remember every single review I receive, and I love every fave/follow. I couldn't ask for a better bunch of readers. **

**I think I just said thanks about twenty times. XD**

**Anyway, so the sequel is up, it's called, "The Driving Force" and I am so super excited about it you have no idea. Haha!**

**So if you want to go check that out and continue on, on this journey with me I will love you forever. If not, I understand and I really want to thank you for reading thus far!**

**So I'll see you guys over there for more adventures and fun and... epically long authors notes. XD**

**Thanks again!**

**~Poke-lover88**


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